Constants and Variables
by Azmodai
Summary: While avoiding his cousin and the daily dose of Harry Hunting, the Boy-Who-Lived stumbles across an impossible woman in an impossible situation. How will she affect his future? how will she shape the things to come?
1. Chapter 1: A House and Grave

**Constants and Variables**

A Harry Potter/Bioshock Infinite crossover.

Summary: Avoiding Dudley's gang, Harry stumbles across something he never thought he would find. What changes will it make to his destiny.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Bioshock Infinite, each belongs to their respective owners.

 _Edited 24/09/2016: Rewrote the Lutece Conversation to fit more in with their personality rather than focusing on just one quirk of the characters._

 **Chapter 1: Letters and Runes**

 _What happens when you dont take the path that's expected._

 _What happens when you stray off the beaten track?_

 _What happens when you look back and think of the path that you could have taken?  
_

 _What happens when you get to look at all those other paths?_

Harry sat in an abandoned house, the owners had disappeared a long time ago, word was that they had moved home but there had been no signs of a moving company and their car had just been left out front but no signs of foul play and the people of Privet Drive, intent to have a 'normal' life had pretty much just ignored it. From this it remained abandoned with warnings to never come into the house. The curtains were closed, the garden overgrown and the condition of the house deteriorating from neglect.

It was by chance that he was here. He was going to stay away from the house but it had been his only escape, his only reprieve from the daily dose of Harry Hunt that Dudley and his gang had started so long ago. Chase the 'freak' and if you can catch him then you get to beat him up. But Harry was quicker than his cousin and his friends and had managed to avoid them and now he sat in the dusty room, he had looped around the house into the garden and was surprised to find the back door was unlocked. Entering he had called out but no response came, no one had been home. Walking in slowly, he looked at the dust covered floor and the tracks that he made in it as he moved, looking around there had been no signs that anyone else had been here in a very long time. With a sigh of relief, he pushed the door shut and walked through the house, looking at the faded furniture, running a hand across the surfaces wiping away some of the dust as he made his way to the living room, brushing the dust off of his hand as he did.

A TV, a bookcase, a sofa and a couple of chairs. Idly he walked forwards to the TV, pressing the button to turn it on not expecting much of anything and the idea that it wouldn't work was confirmed as the TV remained off. He sat on the floor, he could have taken any of the seats but he found himself sitting in the middle of the room, eyes shut and breathing deeply as he tried to focus. It was from a book that he had picked up from the library, one on meditation to help calm the soul and focus himself. He had recieved a few strange looks from the Librarian when he had been seen reading it btu she didn't say anything. Recent Days had been hectic for Harry. Letters addressed to him had appeared almost from out of nowhere. At first it was just one, a single letter through the post addressed to him with the details of where he slept written in ink. It had been heavy a didn't feel like paper.

 _'If only Dudley had kept his mouth shut then perhaps he would have seen what was inside the letter. But instead he had to open his fat mouth and mention the letter.'_ * Harry thought bitterly before stopping that train of thought and letting it slide away into the blackness of nothingness. It didn't do to dwell on what couldn't be changed. He was stuck with them and he would be for years to come. His parents dead and no other living relatives that he was aware of, not including Marge and her hellish hounds. But he'd rather live on the streets than put up with her for any prolonged time period. More letters turned up over the next couple of days, first two, then four, then eight, they doubled every day, appearing in more and more unique places, tied to milk bottles, under the wipers on his Uncles car and even wrapped around the eggs inside the carton that contained them. All the while he had been unable to claim even one of them. His Uncle had taken to making sure Harry was either unable to get out of his new room, having been concerned about people knowing he had lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the better part of ten years, he now had the smallest bedroom in the house. It had amused Harry at the glimpse of a letter that they were now addressed there as well.

He was curious as to who was so desperate to get in touch with him and if they were that desperate why didn't they just try to get in touch themselves? they knew enough about him to know where he slept and they had enough time to write so many letters and deliver them and yet they couldn't think to turn up themselves if they were that eager to get a reply.

A creak of a floorboard and Harry opened his eyes, it was possible it was just the sounds of the house that hadn't been maintained but he didn't take any chances, standing up he brushed the dust off of himself and walked over quietly to the doorway he had come through.

"And you're definitely sure he's in here?" A woman's voice asked, it was one he hadn't heard before, she sounded older than him but still relatively young.

"It's what the tracker shows, Number 30 Privet Drive." Another voice, another woman's voice, stricter and more seasoned. Harry shrunk back away from the door and into the room, glancing for another way out. "He had to have come here recently look at the floor." She added and Harry cursed the dust, his location would be easy to find. A door at the back of the room caught his attention... strange, he hadn't noticed it when he came in.

Unease settled in, the mysterious two that were apparently looking for him and trying to track him. Or the door that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

"Harry Potter?" The younger voice called out and Harry flinched and darted to the door. They knew his name, they could track him and now they were actively looking for him. he gripped the door handle and pulled it open, stairs leading down and he took them shutting the door as he moved. He heard the two voices on the other side of the door but couldn't quite clearly hear what they wanted as he moved quickly down the stairs. Below him was a blue glow, something strange was down here. he slowed down, being careful to not disturb anything, something wasn't right here.

Etched into the walls, the ceiling and the floor were symbols, symbols he didn't recognize, strange devices littered the room and Harry glanced around in confusion. What had been going on in this house? He walked forwards, there was something in the centre of the room, something hidden under a cover. Curiosity called his name, he took a step forward, slowly.

"Harry don't move!" The younger voice called, almost from directly behind him and he froze. "You're in danger." She said and Harry resisted the urge to run. there was panic in her voice. "That symbol you just stepped on was an activation rune." She explained with something that didn't make any sense to Harry, what was a rune and what was an activation rune?

"What does that even mean!?" Harry couldn't resist the panicked question as he looked down at the symbol that he had stepped onto.

"Runes, they're an alternate way to perform magic, or a very outdated way to write, each rune is a symbol and has a meaning. see how they're all over the room?" She commented slowly and Harry took full notice of the symbols, having seen them before but not knowing what they had been. "That Rune you're standing on means start or activate. It's not fully powered with you standing on it but I'd bet any number of Galleons that the moment you move your foot something will happen.

"Something bad?" He asked slowly, it sounded strange, a lot stranger than a prank could possibly be and the deadly seriousness in which she was speaking made him believe her all the more.

"Possibly, or it could just be a light switch. Whoever built this room liked their flashy appearances." She muttered the last part to herself more than Harry.

"Who are you anyway?" Harry questioned as she continued to study the runes.

"So that doesn't feed into the protection rune over there." She muttered missing the question as she traced the connection of runes. "Hmm? Oh sorry, I'm Professor Babbling." She said still distracted by the runes. "I teach ancient runes at Hogwarts." She explained calmly as if it meant something to him.

"Hogwarts?" Harry asked in confusion, the name had popped up before, on the seal of the letter but he didn't know much more than that.

"The School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?" She asked and Harry looked even more confused. "The place where your parents went?" She tried again and the blank look, alongside a look of surprise at the information about his parents made her pause, taking a deep breath as she tried to keep calm. "They didn't tell you did they?" She asked quietly. "They didn't tell you anything about your parents did they." She questioned and Harry went to speak but she held her hand up to stop him. "I'm sorry Harry, don't answer that just yet, I have a feeling I'm not going to like the outcome of this conversation and I don't want to screw this up because I'm angry." She explained and he slowly nodded. "The Activation rune loops around, the connection goes by the defensive rune, looking like it'd trigger the trap but there's a tiny gap in the connection." She muttered tapping her chin thoughtfully. It's not tied to the light or it would have been dark down here before you arrived." She continued to trace out the runic array. "It leads to the area under that cover." She muttered and stood up, carefully stepping around the runes. "The person who designed this was flashy and there is a lot of dangerous and deadly runes here but the connection is so basic. No interlocking runes that will trigger a chain reaction. No booby traps. Flash and no Substance, I'm almost disappointed."

"Does that mean I can move?" Harry asked and she shook her head.

"Not yet, there's still the unknown tied to the end of that rune, I don't want you moving until I know what it is."

"Is everything okay down there?" The elder voice spoke and Babbling stopped and cursed.

"Almost forgot about yet, Yes Minerva, we should be all OK in a minute or two," she called back.

"Who's that?" Harry asked as he tried to remain calm.

"Another Professor at the school, to you she's Professor McGonagall," Professor Babbling explained. "She teaches Transfiguration. An interesting class, I was terrible at it." She mused as she reached the cover. "Right, whatever that Rune activates or doesn't activate is underneath this cover. I'm going to vanish it; I don't want to risk the cloth disturbing any of the other runes as it moves away." She explained as she drew something that to Harry looked like a stick. She flicked her wrist, muttering something and the cover vanished with a small pop. "Huh, didn't expect that." She muttered as she looked down at what could only be described as a glass coffin. Inside a woman lay, dressed in a long blue skirt and white shirt, her hands clasped on her stomach as she looked to be resting peacefully. "I might be a few more minutes." She called up to Professor McGonagall as she frowned. "The Rune leads to a waking rune linked to this. Does that mean she's in some form of suspended animation?" She muttered, kneeling by the rune, "Wait, no it doesn't link to that rune. I may have underestimated whoever did this, that's impressively close." She spoke tracing the line from the activation rune as it passed mere millimetres from the awakening rune. "Harry, what do you know about the people that lived here?"

"Nothing." Harry replied slowly, still confused as to what was going on. "From what my Uncle ranted about they disappeared out of the blue years ago. They kept to themselves, My Aunt didn't like them because they were unusual." Harry explained hesitantly. "I didn't know where they worked. I don't think anyone did. They just appeared almost overnight and then disappeared in the same way." He explained and she frowned more, glancing up at him and then back at the rune array around the room.

"They just happen to move onto your street... That doesn't seem right." She knelt there, stationary, looking at Harry as she tried to piece the puzzle together _'They were definitely magical otherwise they wouldn't have been able to set up this extensive rune array, the wards around the street should have stopped any one with magic moving here, even parents moving with underage magic users, the latent trace would have stopped them from doing it. They arrived after the ward went up so they had to have been strong enough to work around them or... no wait, the runes in the ceiling, they...'_ the thought cut off as she realized what they had done. "Oh you magnificent bastards." She said aloud, standing up again and moving away from the Glass Coffin and moved away, looking up to the runes. "Deception, draining, cloaking, shadow, the runes on the wall are disguised to look like light runes on their own but taken in context. They were piggybacking off the wards. they managed to pierce them somehow and then use it to shroud themselves."

"Does that mean I can move again?" Harry asked, his leg starting to cramp up. He was used to standing quietly and not moving much but that was at the time when he knew he could move around at pretty much any time, now he was forced to stand still and he was trying to make sure he kept the same pressure on the rune which was starting to make his knee ache. It was amazing how much difference having to focus on doing nothing actually caused more pain and annoyance than just aimlessly doing nothing.

"Oh goddess! I'm so sorry Harry, it's the runes, I keep finding something interesting about them and getting side-tracked." She pulled herself away, a slight tint of red on her cheeks showing her embarrassment as she moved back to where she had been tracking the rune. She paused again as she heard footsteps from behind Harry and looked up to see Professor McGonagall walk into view. "Minerva, be careful where you step, the room is quite impressively set up." She called out and the woman in question nodded her head slightly, her stern features falling on Harry who had turned his head to look at the new arrival.

"I did not expect you to get into trouble before you started at Hogwarts Mr Potter, it seems your families habit of ending up in the worst possible place has passed on to you." She said bluntly a hint of amusement behind the statement.

"You knew my family?" Harry asked and she nodded her head.

"I had the distinct pleasure of teaching both of your parents for seven years." She explained and Professor Babbling called out to her.

"That's not a conversation we want to start now." She warned stopping at another run that ran under one of the legs of the table the glass coffin sat on. "Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy for you to continue talking but I've just found out what the rune is linked to."

"Is it dangerous?" McGonagall asked.

"Dangerous depends on how it works. It's a transference rune, I can't see what the final part of it is, it could be the transference of life, of power, of soul. It's linked to the woman in the casket and I can't tell which way the transference will happen. It could drain from Harry or it could be from the woman in the tube here."

"Does that mean she's alive?" McGonagall asked in shock, she had seen the woman as she had walked down but her primary concern had been Harry. "Is there some kind of stasis spell on her?"

"Yep, tied to the rune on at the base of the table. Perfectly preserved and held there, I wonder how long she's been there." She wondered as she looked at Harry who was looking ready to both bolt and ask a dozen or so questions. "This isn't the way the introduction to magic was supposed to happen, you get a letter and one of the Professors was meant to turn up and explain it to you fully and take you to get your stuff."

"But we received no response from you and came to find out why you were not responding to the letters." McGonagall explained and Harry glanced between the two of them.

"The letters were sent by you? What are they? I never got the chance to read them, my Uncle kept taking them away and destroying them." He said and he saw the start of a glare forming on McGonagall's features.

"That is why we came. Dumbledore wanted to send Hagrid who is a great person, but ask him to fully explain something and you'd still lose half the information." Babbling said as she finished with the rune. "Right, I think I can work with this. It's a Power Transference spell, but not away from you. We can't just deactivate the runes without activating them at least not without you standing there for god knows how long." She explained as she stood, dusting off her trousers. "The fun part is that it's also tied to the awakening rune, it doubles back on itself and passes through it. So the Power Transference will start and she'll wake."

"Will it hurt her?" Harry asked quietly. This was his fault, he shouldn't have run into the house, he shouldn't have hidden from the two when they had arrived.

"It's possible, there's interlocking runes all over the room, it would take months of standing there stationary to make sure everything would be deactivated and disabled." She explained and Harry nodded his head, hating this situation that he had gotten himself into.

Couldn't we activate the waking rune and get her out of there?" McGonagall asked in concern looking at the woman in the coffin. "If we can wake her and take her from the table then we could break the link half way." She suggested but a shake of the head was the response given.

"This connection is tenuous at best, disrupting it could cause a magical backlash and kill everyone here at this stage."

"So we just let a rune drain the life of this woman?"

"No, I have an idea." She said as she gestured at the runes around them. "All of the runes seem to be intertwined, they link back to her in some way shape or form. The power drain and the awakening are the earliest step. We could start the chain and hopefully sever the connection almost immediately. There will probably be some transference of power, who knows how that will shape up but we could break it before any permanent damage was done to either of them. In theory that is."

"In theory?"

"In Reality, I don't know what is going to solve the problem, the rune is half concealed so I'm only getting a hint at what is going to happen, not to mention there are probably others that are linked. Whatever sick bastard did this to the girl is to put it bluntly messed up." She said with finality.

"So how do we stop the transference."

"We apparate him out, to the street or perhaps even the garden, it should be far enough to break the connection."

"Apparate?" Harry chimed in and the two looked at him.

"Think teleporting, instant travel between locations."

"Won't there be a greater risk of splinching with the connection?" McGonagall questioned and Babbling nodded.

"The risk is there, but it's a guaranteed way to break the connection. I can do it if you want," She offered and McGonagall shook her head.

"No, I can do it. I just needed to confirm the risks."

"Risks?" Harry asked in disbelief. What the heck was going to go wrong now? It was bad enough that he was trapped in some kind of basement, it was bad enough that he was almost figuratively bound to someone, his foot on a switch that could possibly kill someone he'd never met before and now he heard that the way to break it was risky.

"It's a risk that can be fixed quickly and painlessly, there will be just a weird numbness if splinching occurs. Nothing to be concerned about." Babbling said quickly without actually explaining what Splinching was. "Are you ready Minerva?" She asked and McGonagall nodded her head. "OK, on the count of three, Harry I want you to step off the rune."

"Right."

"One." She started slowly, glancing between Harry and the girl. "Two." She looked to McGonagall who was already in position to get Harry and vanish. "THREE!" She called out and Harry stepped off the rune. Her eyes darted to his feet and widened as she saw an addition to the rune. "Oh... crap." She muttered as a blue dome formed over Harry and the glass tank. "Don't touch him!" She called out as McGonagall went to grab him to apparate out. "There was another part to the rune under his foot, it's a shield rune, it'll block practically anything." She explained as the lines connecting the runes started to glow. "Power Transfer in two." She whispered in defeat looking down as the line hit the power transfer. A white beam formed between Harry and the girl, energy shifting towards him. "Awakening rune in three." She said and like clockwork the woman's eyes snapped open, she gasped for breath, her hands snapping up and pressing against the glass, pressing against it trying to push it open. Professor Babbling had left the lid on, not so much to trap the girl but to prevent activating any booby traps. But it was sealed, looking at it properly she saw it was sealed with no way to get oxygen in. She was going to suffocate.

If she ever found out what sick person created this Runic Array she probably would horribly murder them in a set of Runes just to see how they would feel. She moved her wand and banished the glass, the woman pushing away, off of the table, dropping to the floor as Harry cried out in pain. She looked around the room, the lighting runes flickering which shouldn't have happened. as she glanced up she saw the area that was getting darker wasn't because the lights were dimming. There was something blocking them, lines of what appeared to be energy were forming and opening up revealing objects and places. Water started to fall through one of the tears from another she could hear the sound of rock music, another the scene of a well maintained Garden. What power did this girl have? What was going on? She scanned across the runic array, there were more containment runes, stabilization runes, everything seemed to lead towards her being kept in here specifically for someone to walk in and have this happen. Who was She!?

"Bathsheda! Get her out of here!" McGonagall snapped her out of her thoughts and she could have kicked herself for this. She wanted to help Harry and here she was dallying with the Runes instead of taking advantage that the girl was not contained in a barrier. She turned, moved quickly and grabbed the girls arm, picturing the location of the garden outside and apparating with a deafening crack.

The two fell into the garden, dropping to the overgrown grass with a soft thud. the woman panting as she caught her breath, dealing with the connection severing. Professor Babbling gave herself a pat down to make sure she was still in one piece and smiled as she realized that she was fine. "Are you okay?" She asked looking across at the woman.

"Who... who are you?" The woman asked weakly, struggling to catch her breath as she sat up, hesitance and confusion on her features, a hand pressed against the ground to steady herself.

"I am Bathsheda Babbling, I'm a teacher," She said, not knowing if the woman knew of magic. "And yourself?"

"Elizabeth," She said slowly reaching up and brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Part of me was hoping you'd already know, what's the last thing you remember?" Babbling asked and Elizabeth frowned.

"I was looking for someone, trying to fix a mistake. I remember checking a house and then nothing." Elizabeth explained, rubbing the back of her head, feeling a phantom pain. "I think I was knocked out by something." She whispered. "What happened to me?"

"This is going to sound strange, you were put into stasis, placed in that glass tube and left there, we don't know what happened after that until Harry stumbled across you." Bathsheda started to explain, "It was purely by chance that we even found you. If Harry hadn't gone down there we never would have known you were there."

"By Chance?" A male voice asked.

"Or by Fate?" A female voice asked and the two jumped at the sudden intrusion of voices. Bathsheda quickly grabbing her wand and pointing it at the two new comers who stood in older style clothing, the man in a brown suit and the other in a white blouse and long brown skirt.

"I should have known you two would somehow be involved in this." Elizabeth said tiredly as she pulled herself to her feet, brushing off the dirt that had stuck to her dress. "Where am i this time?"

"It's less of a question of where and more of a question of when." The woman spoke up calmly, glancing around at the overgrown garden and tutted, "terrible house keeping this place has." She said with disinterest before turning back to Elizabeth.

"But at this time the where is just as important." The man added chidingly to the woman.

"I suppose it does, doesn't it.""Where did you come from? i didn't hear any apparation sounds." Bathsheda questioned, keeping her wand pointed at the two newcomers, they seemed to know something about what was going on

"Are you two going to talk in half statements again?" Elizabeth added the question in frustration and Bathsheda looked to her in confusion.

"You know these two?" She asked and Elizabeth nodded.

"In a way, they are the Lutece Twins, Rosalind and Robert." She introduced gesturing to the two in turn.

"She remembers us." Robert spoke glancing at his twin.

"That's good, it would be terribly embarassing if she didn't but who could blame her after her ordeal?" Rosalind asked curiously.

"What are you doing here? Why was I brought here?" Elizabeth asked loudly trying to get them to focus.

"We are where we're needed." Rosalind explained calmly.

"And needed where we are." Robert concluded. "You know how this works Elizabeth."

"Constants and Variables." She muttered, "then who or what is the constant in this situation?" She asked and Rosalind smiled.

"She knows." Robert stated looking at Bathsheda

"She will know." Rosalind continued.

"She does know." Robert finished and Elizabeth sighed in frustration, a straight answer from these two was the equivalent of trying to pull teeth. Even when they were being a bit more helpful than this they were still confusing to focus on but at this point they seemed to want to avoid talking fully around her. Perhpas it was because of the woman that had helped her. The Twins definitely thought that she had some clue as to who was involved in all of this.

"There is someone you know or know of that is a focus of all of this." Elizabeth explained and Bathsheda looked confused at this.

"How am I supposed to know who that is? I know a lot of people." She said in confusion having been quickly lost by the double talk and tense changes by the Lutece Twins, she had spent years dealing with the illogical nature of Wizards and Witches and had started to properly understand how their society worked but this was a whole different game.

"They appeared now, what happened now and who is here that you know? Besides myself of course." Elizabeth asked and Bathsheda's eyes widened, the realisation of what had just happened down in the basement kicking in.

"Harry!" She replied in surprise and turned, bolting into the house.

"She knows." Rosalind commented simply.

"She did know." Robert added and Elizabeth sighed again.

"So I am Variable in this." Elizabeth questioned. "This Harry is a focus of everything that is going on here."

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps not. One does not explain an experiment for fear of tainting the results." Robert explained.

"You told myself and Booker lots of things while dealing with Columbia!" Elizabeth protested. "Songbird, accessing the rifts to enter a different Columbia, you guided me into Rapture!" Elizabeth snapped and paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "How did I get here?" She asked slowly, "I remember Rapture, i remember Atlas and I... I remember dying."

"You remember dying because in a different dimension at a different time you did die. However my Dear Brother pointed out that everything we did do and everything that had happened was our responsibility, our mess to clean up. Our device and abilities and yours as well are all connected through out." Rosalind explained calmly, a small smile on her lips as she studied Elizabeth.

"So you saved me?"

"We just opened the door for your escape, you stepped through." Robert paused, sharing a glance with Rosalind and a slight nod before continuing. "With your wounds healed, we went on our way. An infinite number of realities to see and explore."

"As we travelled these infinite rifts we found that the rules were not as consistant as we first believed. There were still constants but they changed."

"How can they be constants if they changed?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, for it to be a constant meant that it was unable to change. Always a Lighthouse always a City and always a man.

"Because if there are an infinite of dimensions than there are obviously an infinite number of variations, to have anything less would not be Infinite, it would indeed be finite." Robert explained calmly and Elizabeth still looked at him in confusion, she was starting to see where he was going with this but at this time she still wanted him or his sister to flat out state it. "What if there was no City and no Man?"

"And no Lighthouse?" Elizabeth continued thoughtfully, though it came out more like a question though they both nodded.

"A different time with a different set of actions that create a different constant." Rosalind simply said.

"Then what are these new constants? and how did I get here?" Elizabeth questioned again, cursing her inability to fully remember what had happened.

"You came here because you chose to, if you can't remember it, what good would us telling you do?" Rosalind dismissed, "in time you will no doubt remember, i do hope it isn't too late by that point though."

"As for the new constants, you know of one now, but it is not our place to tell you. Time has a way of revealing all in the end."

"Because it already has revealed it." Elizabeth said in understanding, to the twins, time had no concept, they were where they needed to be when they needed to be, "the only constant that i know of is the boy who woke me up, this time, these realities here link to him. He is, he was and he always will be, his circumstances may change but he is always there in one shape or form." She said in understanding about this pocket of time and dimension that they had come to. "How do i play into this?" Elizabeth asked, trying to see if she could get an answer from the two of them but they just smiled that enigmatic smile and Rosalind waved the question off.

"We've told you and we will tell you. You know how this works Elizabeth, one does not explain an experiment for fear of tainting the results."

"But you've already told me so much, what does al ittle bit more hurt?"

"Have we? This is all things that you already know, we just wanted to make sure you were okay," Rosalind said warmly, the two had been there to care for her in this situation even if they were so detached.

"We almost feel responsible, like a relative."

"Perhaps a distant absent minded relative." Elizabeth muttered in frustration but said her farewell and turned and walked away, back into the house after the woman that had woken her up. She reached the doorway and glanced back, sure enough the twins were gone. "It seems there is at least one other constant." She said and closed the door walking through the house, following where the others had gone thanks to the footsteps in the dust. "I don't know where I am, I don't know when I am, I don't know what's going on." She came to the door that led to the basement and froze. it was silly really, she had been trapped but now she was free, there should be no danger but at the same time, she had been shut in there. Trapped in a glass box until by chance someone had come down here. _'What if they had never come down? would I have been trapped there forever?'_ She mentally questioned and shook her head. She couldn't dwell on it now. She took the stairs slowly, her boots clicking against the wooden steps as she walked down. below she could hear voices, calmness and confusion mingling together, not knowing what had happened but trying to understand what had just happened.

"But what was the power? what were those things that appeared all around us?" An older woman's voice questioned and Elizabeth realized what had happened.

"They're called tears." She said as she hit the bottom of the stairs. "They're windows into what could be, what may be, what has been." She explained in the hopes of keeping it simple for the people.

"Are you talking about Alternate Dimensions?" Bathsheda spoke, there were theories, there were beliefs that they existed but nothing had ever happened to prove that they were there, they did make for some interesting stories though. "How is something like that possible?"

"To explain would take a long, long time and I'm still not sure that I would be able to explain it. It is something I've been able to do since I was a child."

"Alternate Dimensions?" McGonagall asked, having lived in the magical world for all her life, she had not heard anything regarding them before so this was all new to her. Elizabeth looked at her, thinking of a simple way to explain what it was to the sterner looking woman.

"Picture yourself walking along a street that ends in a crossroads, two directions a left turn and a right turn, Pick a direction." Elizabeth ordered and McGonagall looked pensive for a moment.

"Left."

"You take the left turn, you move on and never look back and the turn is all but forgotten about, but what if you had turned right? what differences could that have made? what events could you have encountered if you had gone that way instead of left. Every time you make a decision like that, you create a... branch, a new pathway that could have been. The tears are windows to these situation." She explained, not wanting to give the full information that she could in fact travel those paths or that this was just a very basic aspect of what her power was.

"So the power transfer to Harry would have given him the same abilities?" She questioned and Elizabeth shook her head.

"In theory it shouldn't, there is a specific reason why I can see them, why I can interact and pull things through these tears." She said and to demonstrate, she pulled open one that had appeared earlier, a window to a garden, she reached through, picking a flower from the windowsill before closing the rift again, holding the rose. It felt weird to show someone who wasn't Booker or from Columbia that was in the know the rift, but it felt right as well. To not show them would only cause doubt and this way she was able to control what they knew. She paused to sniff the rose before holding it out to the others. Bathsheda responded first, taking the rose studying it intently and coming quickly to the conclusion that it was a real rose. "It is not something that can be replicated easily without my assistance." She said with certainty before changing the subject away from the powers. "How is he?" She asked, turning the attention back to the unconscious boy still lying on the floor but a pillow had been placed under his head to make sure he was comfortable until they moved him. "You said his name was Harry, didn't you?" She asked as she studied the boy, he looked no older than ten, thin and possibly malnourished and he was pale.

"He seems fine, he's exhausted and needs rest if he's going to recover properly. Although the drain of power was from you, the shield that stopped us from getting him out was powered by his own magic. We were just about to move him to somewhere more comfortable. The people here apparently disappeared years ago but everything is still in a reasonably good enough condition so we should be able to put him in a bed upstairs, we can clean the dust off and he can rest there while we decide what to do with you." Bathsheda said and Elizabeth nodded her head absentmindedly as she thought about what the Lutece twins had said. Harry was the key point in this, he was the constant. There was something going to happen involving Harry that brought the attention of the Lutece Twins. Or was it that something had happened that had drawn their attention. she resisted the urge to hold her head and cry out in frustration, dealing with those two always resulted in a headache and always left more questions than answers. Bathsheda lifted her wand, flicking it and levitating the unconscious form into the air. Elizabeth frowned, it was similar to things she had seen before. Were they the same? it didn't look like a tonic and she seemed to be focusing it through that stick.

"While she takes care of him, perhaps we should take a seat and try to work out what is going on?" McGonagall suggested, gesturing to the stairs and back to the Living Room. Elizabeth took one last look around the room that had been her cell and nodded her head turning and walking back up the stairs, acutely aware that McGonagall had been watching her intently to make sure she wasn't a threat. They stepped into the living room and Elizabeth walked around the room studying it. Furniture in designs and shapes that were vastly different from what she remembered. When she had arrived here initially she had not stopped to study what had changed.

"So different now." She mused as she walked around looking at the Television in mild fascination. She glanced back at McGonagall who was watching her before she gestured at the seat with her stick and all traces of dust were gone and the colour had returned to it.

"Have a seat." She commanded with a simple yet very authoritative tone and Elizabeth walked over and sat down. "Who are you?" She asked and Elizabeth frowned, she was willing to answer questions but she was not going to be treated like she was in an interrogation.

"Shouldn't you offer your name first before you start interrogating me? It seems only polite." She countered and the intense look turned to a small glare that sent a chill down Elizabeth's spine. She could see that this woman was not someone to cross.

"Very well, I am professor Minerva McGonagall, I teach at Hogwarts and you are?" She introduced and repeated her initial question, very focused and very determined.

"My Name is Elizabeth... Elizabeth Com... no that's not right, Elizabeth DeWitt." She introduced, initially falling onto an old name before correcting herself, it would make no difference either way here, the man in question was a non-entity in this location and time, at least she thought he was. "Where am I?"

"You don't know?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking. I remember looking for someone, someone bad and getting knocked unconscious but not where I was."

"You are in the town of Little Whinging in Surrey. Your accent isn't English, are you by any chance from the Colonies?" McGonagall asked, using the old term for Americans, Elizabeth frowned at the choice of words, they had formed into states by this point, in fact quite a long time ago, why wouldn't she refer to it as the states unless she was making a slight joke but the look from her face indicated it was no joke.

"I am from there." She said simply. It was technically true. Columbia had been part of the USA before it went on its own little path into the Sky. Though whether or not that happened here... She stopped the train of thought, she could worry about it later.

"And you came to England looking for someone."

"In a roundabout way I did. I almost caught up to him before but missed him. it took months before I found out he was in England." She explained calmly.

"Why were you looking for him?" McGonagall asked wondering whether or not Elizabeth could be a danger to Harry with this action.

"That doesn't matter. I probably won't find him again." She said waving it off. "Now when am I?"

"When are you?"

"Yes, when am I? time, year, date. I don't know how long I was in that box. I Dont know how much time has passed since i first arrived" She responded and McGonagall drew her wand bringing up the time.

"It's 5 pm, Saturday August 4th 1991."

"1991!" She asked in shock. glad she was sitting down. "I've been down there for so long." She muttered quietly. "Or was I moved there? I wish I could remember what happened before." She muttered, the last bit was quiet and more to herself than McGonagall.

"The latest you could have arrived was November 1st 1980. The runes were designed to take advantage of the wards that protected the street." Bathsheda said as she walked down the stairs. "In fact, if I had to hazard a guess the arrival was planned in progress with the wards going up. You'd have to be in here on the day the runes were set to fully take effect and not cause an impact to the protections that would be noticed." She explained as she continued to try and puzzle the runes that had been set up down there.

"That would take incredible timing, not to mention they'd have to know exactly when this was going to happen and what was going to happen." Elizabeth said, humming as she thought about the situation, there were few people who could manage to be that accurate with timing. "So, what do you plan to do with me now?"

"You're lost, out of place, out of time and have no resources to your name. We can't by all means just leave you to your own devices." Bathsheda explained. "Not to mention those people seem to think you'll have some impact on what is to happen."

"Those People?"

"Sorry Minerva, I forgot that you weren't there when they appeared. two... visitors appeared after I apparated Elizabeth out." She said giving a pointed look at Elizabeth.

"They're known at the Lutece Twins, Rosalind and Robert, brilliant scientists, the best in their field, though a bit detached from reality." She chuckled at her own inside joke. "To them everything is an experiment, why, what, when, how. All of it is something that can be picked apart and studied." She looked between the two and saw the shared looks of doubt and knew where this was going to lead so spoke up first. "What I said about tears, that's a small aspect of it. The Lutece Twins found a way to harness it and actually enter different dimensions, different time lines." She paused as she let that sink in for a moment. Downplay her own powers and raise up the level of power the Lutece Twins had. "Something went wrong though. Something bad happened, I don't know what because I wasn't there but they were... killed for lack of a better word." More doubt and confusion, she could work with this. Of course she wasn't about to tell them it had happened because of the actions of someone she knew in a roundabout way. "They were killed with their own device but instead of destroying them it put them outside of existence. They are but they aren't. They exist but they don't." She explained. "Neither alive, nor dead." she concluded to the looks of disbelief on the faces of the two. "I've been trying to work it out for years but I still don't know for sure." She added, a little white lie but it didn't hurt to hide the extent of her powers for now. "Now I've got to ask a question myself," she said looking between the two, trying to keep up to keep them flat footed even though she knew she didn't really have to, they had been perfectly honest so far with their actions. Almost transparent but she had to keep it quiet for now. "What is all this that you've been doing? Floating the kid, teleporting from one location to another, what is it?"

Looking back and forth between each other they had a silent war to see who would take the discussion of magic. It was one that was always interesting to deliver to people that were being introduced to it, they acted so differently. McGonagall eventually took the initiative. "What do you know about magic?"

"As in Sleight of hand? parlour tricks?" Elizabeth asked and McGonagall smiled before shaking her head.

"No, I mean actual magic, the ability to turn an object into another, the ability to disappear from one location only to reappear in another." She said giving two different examples.

"It's fake? they can be explained away." Elizabeth said though she wasn't entirely sure she believed it herself after all, to some, her ability would be believed to be magic.

"I assure you my dear, it is anything but an illusion, though there are several spells that could be used to create an illusion." She corrected and with her wand pointed it at the coffee table that sat to one side turning it into a small brown dog.

Elizabeth gasped in shock, a hand coming up to her mouth as the dog barked at her excitedly and jumped up at her. "It's a real dog." She whispered in amazement as she leant over and stroked its fur, amazed at how real it felt.

"To an extent, it breaths, it moves and acts like a dog but it's not truly alive, in a few minutes it will revert back to its initial state as a coffee table." McGonagall explained.

"This is amazing. there are more of you who can do things like this?" Elizabeth asked in excitement as she continued to fuss the dog.

"There's an entire hidden community that runs parallel to the non-magical world." McGonagall explained and Bathsheda snorted.

"Runs parallel in many things except evolution, we're still stuck in the past while the muggle world continues to evolve in leaps and bounds." Bathsheda added sarcastically. "We're stagnating, refusing to change our ways because it worked in the past."

"That doesn't sound so good." Elizabeth spoke up quietly.

"Traditions and old upbringings are a hard thing to change, expecting people to become different overnight is not going to work."

"Refusing to change can be worse though, it can bring disaster, war, destruction and pain." Elizabeth spoke, a haunted tone to her voice as she remembered what had happened to Columbia.

"The Division has already brought that to the community, we're still recovering from what happened and trying to prevent it from ever happening again. Hell, it's only because of one child that we're at this point to recuperate." Bathsheda told Elizabeth.

"Harry is the constant." Elizabeth said, repeating what the Lutece Twins had said before, it was starting to fall into place. Harry had to be the child that Bathsheda was talking about.

"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked and Elizabeth focused on her, looking intently at her as she stopped paying any attention to the dog by her feet.

"Who is Harry, why is he so important?" She asked.

TBC

It feels good to write again, I won't lie it's been a long time since I've done anything like this and I'm glad that I did. I picked up a program on Steam called Nimble Writer, don't ask me why it essentially has the same tools that Word does, less in fact but at the same time there is just something about it that kind of kicked the gears into action. This is one idea I've wanted to write for a very long time and now it's just flowing so damn easily. The start may feel a bit clichéd but I think it works.

I've got the first 10 chapter already written, i'm going to upload one a week i think. It'll allow me to keep the chapters to around the size i want and still keep a steady update.

Shout out to my friend Zaraelys Soulrage who has been a godsend to bounce ideas off of while i've been writing.

Another shout out to a Reviewer: rickyp01 who has helped me with his review, after i got it, the scene just clicked and the Lutece conversation has now been altered.


	2. Chapter 2: Details

**Chapter 2: Details**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock Infinite, they each belong to their own creators. I'm just playing in the sandpit for a bit._

"With all due respect, that's a terrible idea on how it worked." Elizabeth cut in as McGonagall explained how Harry survived the killing curse.

"Excuse me?" She said dumbfounded as to how she was dismissed with such abruptness. Few people dared do that. Even fewer did it a second time. "How can you possibly say that?"

"Because you're trying to claim that his mother's death saved his life." Elizabeth said with seriousness, she wasn't trying to take away from her sacrifice, far from it. It showed how much she loved her child that she was willing to die to save him but to think that it's what stopped this 'killing curse' from killing him just smelt fishy. "You're telling me that in all this time that this spell has existed, not one parent hasn't thrown their life in the line of fire to protect their child."

"That isn't what I'm saying at all." She protested, though it felt like a weak protest to Elizabeth, with them having spent all their time on this theory, that her sacrifice had protected him they didn't think of any other possible outcome.

"Then are you trying to imply that the other children who died with their parents, that their mothers didn't love them enough to warrant this protection?" Elizabeth asked before reigning in her annoyance. "I'm sorry, but it just doesn't make sense. It makes a great story but it doesn't add up." She said and McGonagall couldn't help but agree with her on it.

"When you put it bluntly like that." McGonagall commented and Elizabeth blushed slightly at the pointed look and the look of mirth on Bathsheda's face. "It does raise some questions."

"I think we may have to dig into that then. Lily was an excellent witch; I wouldn't put it past her to have created some kind of protection to keep him alive." Bathsheda said in amusement. "I just wished the house had remained in better condition, her notes would have been there." She guessed as she tapped her fingers on the side of the chair. "What did you mean when you said he was the constant? What did the twins mean when they said it?" She asked and Elizabeth leaned back, thinking on the situation.

"An infinite number of realities, each slightly different from the other, it could be something simple like a different hair colour on a person, it could be something drastic like a war that didn't end the way it was supposed to." She paused and saw her nod in understanding. "Now those are the variables, the changes that happened that affected everything and caused the different branch. With those branches though, there is always something that is a constant, it could be anything. In this situation it looks like one of the constants is Harry Potter. Something about him that is the same across all dimensions with each dimension shaping his destiny... destiny." She muttered the last word again as she thought about the killing curse tale. Could he have survived purely because of some fate and destiny?

"So in these alternate time lines, he always exists in some way, shape or form?" Bathsheda asked and Elizabeth nodded. "I bet Snape would love that." She chuckled in amusement and McGonagall tried to hide a smirk behind a small cough. Bathsheda withdrew her wand, twirled it around so she was holding the end and held it out to Elizabeth. "Humour me with something for a second." She said as Elizabeth slowly took the wand. "Just hold it in your hand and say 'Lumos' while thinking about light." She commanded gently and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Lumos." She called and nearly dropped the wand in shock as the end lit up with a white light. "Does this mean what I think it means?" She asked and Bathsheda and McGonagall nodded their heads. Elizabeth stared in shock, this wasn't how it was meant to be, she wasn't a witch! A tear using dimensional time traveller Yes, a magic user… no way. She thought about this for a moment and realised that she'd probably have to look into this more but for the moment she'd go with how it was playing out.

"It means you are a witch." McGonagall confirmed. "How old are you?"

"Current age or what I would be if I wasn't shut in stasis for all those years?" Elizabeth asked and smiled slightly at Bathsheda's chuckling as she took her wand back.

"Let's start with current age." Bathsheda offered as she placed her wand back in her holster.

"I am Eighteen." She said after thinking about it. 1912 was where she had come from. she hadn't aged while in that stasis situation so that left her being around that age. Perhaps she was nineteen, possibly older. She stopped the thought when she realized that it was starting to make her head spin. No wait… she was older than that. "Sorry, I'm Twenty. My mind is still trying to catch up with what happened I think." She said with a small smile, she had wandered in between time, but at least a year had passed. She wasn't sure how much she had aged though. Did she age while she was travelling in between dimensions? Either way, she was around twenty.

"We could..." Bathsheda started but was cut off by McGonagall.

"No." She said seriously.

"But you don't..." Again she was cut off.

"No, I know what you're thinking and no, we can't have her start as a first year, she's too old." McGonagall stated simply.

"Ah ha! I wasn't going to say that; I was in fact going to suggest one of us possibly take her on as an apprentice or as a Teaching Assistant." Bathsheda countered with a triumphant look in her eyes. "She can cast magic, she's completely lost and out of her element in this time, she has no money and we can't just leave her here. Not to mention that power transfer," she added looking back at Elizabeth who was about to speak. "I know you said it most probably won't work for him but surely it would be better for you to be around in case it does happen and he does gain this ability. The last thing we want is Harry breaking everything or even himself with these powers if they do happen to manifest." She explained and Elizabeth conceded the point without saying anything. Just because she believed it wasn't possible for him to access the dimensions didn't make that true.

"But where would she stay? Hogwarts doesn't have guest rooms and I highly doubt she'd want to stay in the teachers wing, the majority of us are a lot older than her." McGonagall questioned and Elizabeth tried to speak but was cut off before she could start by Bathsheda responding.

"She could stay in one of the dorms, she could be sorted into a house if need be to further legitimize it, we have a Head Boy and Head Girl room in each of the Dorms that remain unused year after year if that house doesn't have one of their students selected. She could have her privacy to do what lessons we give her and be able to interact with people more her age." Bathsheda suggested and Elizabeth went to speak but was cut off by McGonagall.

"The amount of work that she would be required to do, combined with the teaching assistant task to mark paperwork and other jobs. She'd be rushed off her feet with little to no time to relax." McGonagall countered, not wanting to shoot down the idea but seeing the problems that would be raised by the situation.

"But what about..." Bathsheda started but Elizabeth cut her off.

"She is sitting right here and can answer the question fairly easily!" Elizabeth called out loudly over the two only to get shushed almost instantly.

"Quiet, we don't want to wake him up." Bathsheda chided lightly and Elizabeth glared lightly in response.

"I can do the work, I like to read, I'm used to working on my own and solving puzzles and I can get it done." She said with a certainty that took the other two by surprise. "I'm here for a reason, the Lutece Twins told me as much. I've got to work out what that reason is and Harry is the focus point." Elizabeth explained, "I want to see where this leads." Elizabeth finished with determination. "Give me the job or don't give me the job it's up to you, I'll probably find my own way up there." She said and again Bathsheda found herself chuckling in amusement at the situation.

"In that case." McGonagall said looking at Bathsheda with a steely look that sobered her right up and found her sitting slightly straighter in her chair. McGonagall smiled seeing the reaction that she could get from her old student. "I think this will be better left in your hands." She said and Bathsheda gulped in joking nervousness. "Your suggestion, your idea, your task to complete. Get her the relevant tools, get her a wand, get her prepared for the new School Year. I shall leave it in your hands to also see that Harry Potter gets his school supplies as well." She said as she withdrew two golden keys from her robe pocket. "Here is Mr Potters key and the key to the School Supply vault, use it to get her equipment prepared." McGonagall ordered and Bathsheda nodded her head as McGonagall stood up. "I must return to Hogwarts and speak to Dumbledore about this development." She finished and disappeared with a crack.

"That was kind of abrupt." Elizabeth commented after a moments silence.

"You gave her something to think about regarding Harry. She already feels that it was the wrong choice to leave him with his relatives back when his parents were murdered and seeing him like this probably reinforced that idea and now you've raised questions on their deaths. It's a lot to think about." Bathsheda said as she stood up herself and brushed off traces of dust. "I'm going to head upstairs and check on Harry for a moment." She said and started walking. Elizabeth sat for a moment thinking on what had happened before pushing herself off of the sofa and following after. the two walked up the creaky staircase and onto the landing as she was led towards the bedroom at the end of the hall. from the slightly open door she could hear the sound of light sleeping and knew already that he wasn't awake. "Hmm, I thought that perhaps he would have woken up by now. That's fine. we'll leave him to rest now. I think it may be best for us to stay here, a familiar place for him when he wakes up before we take him back to his relatives." She stopped for a moment, not liking the idea of returning him to his relatives but not really having much of a choice. "After that, I suppose you can stay at mine. But first I think we need food. Do you think you'll be okay if I head to the shops to get stuff?" She asked and Elizabeth nodded her head. "Excellent, I'll go take care of that now then." She turned, started heading back down the stairs and then paused. "Listen... I know this seems to be happening quickly and it's going to be a bit all over the place for the near future. If you have any concerns about what is going on, any thoughts about anything at all. Speak up and let me know, I'll answer what I can when I can." Bathsheda offered. "Geez, look at me, I'm Twenty-Two and I'm looking after a kid and an adult that's almost as clueless as the kid… no offense. I did not expect this to happen when I agreed to go with Minerva to deliver the letter." She laughed hollowly. "I'm too young to be a parent." She joked raising her hand and pressing the back of it to her forehead in mock faintness.

Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh as she followed her back down stairs. "You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself." She said and Bathsheda smiled at her.

"That's good to know, I'm going to be relying on that independence in the future. One teacher probably won't need an assistant all that much, Dumbledore will probably get you floating between classes helping out where possible. You're going to be extremely busy. That's if he even agrees to this... but he's always about second chances so why not a first chance to prove yourself." She continued to almost talk to herself instead of Elizabeth as she headed towards the door. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next." She said and walked out the front door with barely a glance back.

Elizabeth stood on the stairs in confusion at how Bathsheda acted, she almost seemed to forget everything around her as she started working on ideas. "She did that with me as well." A quiet voice spoke up behind her causing her to jump.

"Harry?" Elizabeth spoke turning to look at the dark haired kid standing at the top of the stairway.

"When she was looking at those... runes she called them, she kept trailing off and talking to herself. Are you Okay?" Harry asked and Elizabeth nodded, walking down the stairs with Harry following behind her back into the living room.

"I'm fine, a bit tired but I'm okay. I think she got me away from there in time." Elizabeth explained.

"I didn't mean to hurt you; I was..." He trailed of, feeling embarrassed about the whole situation.

"It's okay, I don't blame you for what happened." Elizabeth said softly as she slowly guided him towards the sofa and sitting him down, sitting next to him after a moment. "If anything I should thank you, if you didn't go down there, I don't know how long I would have been trapped like that." She shuddered at the thought of being stuck in that box forever, completely unaware as to what was happening around her. "Or worse, someone other than you could have found me and they could have used whatever that was to do unspeakable things. You saved me," she finished seriously and looked at a very embarrassed Harry.

"I still don't know what's going on." He said quietly, "I run away from my cousin and next thing I have a woman telling me magic is real while I'm standing on something magical that almost kills someone. Does this mean my past is a lie?" He asked and Elizabeth looked at him with confusion.

"How do you mean?" She asked slowly, not sure she was going to like how this was going to play out.

"..." He stayed silent.

Elizabeth reached up with her hand, gently turning his head to face him. "Tell me Harry, I won't judge you." She kindly spoke and Harry looked into her blue eyes.

"My Aunt and Uncle told me my parents died in a drunken car crash." He said, his voice barely above a whisper and Elizabeth flinched in shock.

"How could they do that!?" She asked in horror, "Even if it was true, who tells a child that!" She asked aloud looking away from Harry for a moment. "What kind of sick person says something like that to a child?" Elizabeth clenched her right hand into a fist, taking a deep breath she let her hand open up again. She could get angry later. For now, Harry needed some reassurance. "What if I told you that it was a lie?" She asked Harry, the kid tilting his head slightly as she smiled. "Your parents didn't die in a car crash; they weren't drunks or anything else your relatives said."

"What do you know? How can you know?" Harry asked quickly and Elizabeth smiled.

"I was being told recent events and your parents became part of the discussion. They're heroes Harry, you are a hero." She said as she looked away from him, down at her hands that rested in her lap. "There was a bad man, he was killing a lot of people. Your parents opposed him and it drew his attention. They went into hiding but he found them."

"They were murdered?" He said, his voice coming out more as a statement than a question and Elizabeth nodded.

"They died to save you," She explained and Harry's head lowered.

"How am I still alive?" He asked and Elizabeth couldn't help but shrug.

"I don't know, there's theories but no facts." She said and looked at him. "But does it matter? your parent's loved you, there can be no doubt about that, they gave their lives to make sure you lived," she comforted, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened to the man who murdered my parents?" Harry asked and again Elizabeth couldn't answer with full details, heck she barely knew the story herself other than the thirty-minute explanation that had been given.

"As far as anyone else knows, he died on that night. the spell that was used to try and kill you, it reflected back and destroyed him. You'll have to ask others for the information because I don't know, this is just what I was told. Perhaps when Bathsheda returns she could explain it in more detail." Elizabeth suggested and Harry nodded in acceptance, it was a lot to take in, going from someone with nothing and being lied about his parent's death to being the child of murder victims, surviving by chance and finding out he had magical abilities. She was surprised he didn't freak out. "Are you okay?" She asked already knowing that he wasn't, his world was being turned upside down around him. Okay was definitely not a word that would be used to describe his situation. He didn't respond, staring off into space as his brain chipped through the thoughts. Elizabeth wished she had something to take her mind off of this at the moment and distract him. She looked around, a bookshelf in the corner, empty and coated in dust, but where that emptiness was, she smiled. A tear. a small one. "Hey Harry," She called as she walked over to it.

"Yeah?" He spoke, pulled from his thoughts looking in her direction.

"Can you see anything here?" She asked testing a theory. The others weren't able to see the tears until her powers had started acting out during the event in the basement but if Harry did receive any of her powers, perhaps he'd be able to see the rift here.

"An empty bookcase... why do you... wait, there's something else, it looks like a cut in the air." Harry spoke slowly as he caught sight of the tear. "It's small, I almost missed it on the shelf." He explained as he stood up, walking over to her. "What is it?"

"It's... complicated," she said after a moment, she had been hoping he wouldn't have seen it. It would have made things so much simpler. "It's called a tear, a window into what could be." She explained a simplified version of it.

"What could be?" Harry asked for clarification.

"Let's take this one as an example. ignore the tear for a second, what do you see with it not there. be specific." She said, folding her arms glancing between him and the bookcase.

"I don't understand but I see an empty bookcase." Harry said and Elizabeth smiled before gesturing with one hand for him to continue

"Be more specific." She pushed and Harry frowned.

"It's a brown, wooden bookcase, three shelves, nothing on it except for dust. What are you getting at?" He asked in confusion at the level of detail she wanted him to go into.

"Now focus on the tear, what do you see when you look at it." she said giving it a slight push to open it wider.

"I see... a different bookcase. I can't tell what colour it is, everything's grey. there's four shelves, it's bigger and filled with books." Harry explained and Elizabeth smiled, she saw the same thing.

"What you see is the same place but different, where the person here only had a three shelf bookcase, the person there chose to have a four shelf bookcase." She unfolded her arms and gripped the tear, pulling it open, the bookcase shifting, changing, where a brown bookcase stood, now a black bookcase stood stocked with books. "Huh, I guess the tear was stocked with books that were relevant for what we needed. Some good luck for change." She mused, hiding the fact that she had probably influenced the tear a little bit. The tears had always been the same to her, almost equal parts alternate reality and wish fulfilment. She pulled a book off the shelf entitled _Hogwarts: A History_ She turned walking back over to the chair and sat down. "You may as well take a book and sit down Harry, Bathsheda has gone to get supplies and then I think she plans to give you and introduction talk about magic. " Elizabeth said and opened the book on to the contents page to see what lay in store. Before she started reading any further though she looked to see Harry looking back between her and the bookshelf. "At the moment it looks like you've picked something up from that event. I can see the windows into other dimensions, I can pull things through. At the moment it looks like you have at least got some basic ability to see it from there." She paused idly glancing down at her right hand and her missing little finger and the thimble that rested on it. "Whether or not you can get more of it will have to be seen over time." Elizabeth finished, turning the page of the book. "Take a seat Harry, she should be back soon." She said again and Harry shook his head.

"But I need to get home, I'm already late as it is." Harry protested, "my Aunt and Uncle are going to kill me." He said nervously, it wasn't literal but he really didn't want to deal with them shouting at him. It was too much of a hassle sometimes.

"I think they may have a plan for that as well. Besides, from the sounds of it, they didn't want you finding out about this." She said gesturing to the book that she was holding. "If they didn't want you to find out about this, wouldn't you want to find out what it is that they're trying to hide?" She asked and Harry let out a small sound of acceptance. "We'll deal with your relatives in time. Let's find out what else they've lied about first shall we?" She suggested with a hint of darkness in her mind. "We can't let them get away with what they've done but we can't confront them without information." She pointed out as Harry picked up a book entitled _The Magical Mind: Mastering your mental shields._ she raised an eyebrow at that. "Interesting choice." She muttered quietly to herself, if he heard he didn't say anything and so she started reading. The moving pictures caught her by surprise, the first one almost making her throw the book away but she tightened her grip instead as she started to read glancing up at Harry every now and again, his brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to make heads or tails of the book that he was reading.

Time passed quietly between the two as they continued to read and Elizabeth found herself quickly becoming engrossed in the book. Years spent in isolation in the tower in Columbia had left her with quite the ability to speed read and retain the information and this whole new world that was about to open to her was fascinating to say the least. Idly she wondered how he would have dealt with the situation, had he found out about this world. _'Probably tried to burn it to the ground. Heresy and Witchcraft.'_ She thought bitterly turning another page as the topic shifted to talk about the enchanted stairs in the building.

"Well, if this is how quiet it's going to be looking after you two for the near future, I'm pretty sure I can't complain about it." Bathsheda spoke from the doorway looking in on the two of them, several carrier bags in her hands. "Though I don't remember any books being here when I left." She said glancing at Elizabeth who nodded in silent acceptance that it was her that brought the books in. "Huh, fair enough." She added and turned walking towards the kitchen. "Anyway, who is hungry?" She called out and Elizabeth and Harry shared a look before closing their books and placing them down. The smell of Fish and Chips capturing their full attention as they both realized just how hungry they were. Harry stood up, walking towards the kitchen, Elizabeth following after him. "Fish and Chips is for dinner because my ability to use Housework Charms is non-existent." She admitted with a blush as she brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "So take a seat, enjoy your food and after we'll talk business." She said gesturing to the now clean kitchen table. They took their seats. "Enjoying your book?" She asked Elizabeth who nodded her head.

"The School sounds fascinating; I can't wait to see it." She said eagerly and Harry looked confused. "The Ceiling of the Great Hall, the Enchanted Stairs, all of the Moving Portraits and pictures. It's almost like a fairy tale." She said quite happily about what she had learned before turning serious. "But you need to tell Harry about his parents." Elizabeth said firmly and Bathsheda looked between the two of them.

"Does he know?" She asked and Elizabeth made a non-committal sound in response.

"He knows that they were murdered and that his relatives have lied to him about it but not the full details, I only told him what you told me but I think we both know that something was left out." She said pointedly and Bathsheda sighed.

"It's not something pleasant to tell, I don't know all the details because at that time I was eight... maybe nine at the time. I didn't even know the Magical World existed, though it did explain why my Primary School teacher suddenly lost all his hair..." She trailed off a look of amusement on her face before shaking her head. "Anyway, let's not focus on my misdemeanours." She chuckled slightly seeing the two with amused smiles on their faces before she turned seriously. "There are a lot of question still regarding that night. Elizabeth you asked the one that rarely gets brought up, how did Harry survive when everyone else died. To be honest I have no clue. I could think of possible untested theories that people have come up with and theories that people have tried and well... let's not talk about those results." She said with another hesitant chuckle and a grimace.

"Can you start at the beginning for him? And for me for that matter, I think there's a bit more to the information than what you originally told me." Elizabeth said and Bathsheda sighed.

"Again, I'm not the best one to tell you this. I was a kid that knew nothing of the Magical World when this was happening and it was long over with by the time I truly started to understand what was going on. The Wizarding World was in a war, A Dark Lord by the name of V... Vol... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." She conceded, unable to say his name. "No one speaks his name, it's a stigma, almost like a curse to speak it. The only one who knowingly and willingly does is Dumbledore. But he was the only one that the Dark Lord ever feared." She explained and Elizabeth and Harry shared an uneasy glance. How dangerous was this man if his mere name caused untold level of terror? "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, titles to hide his name. He started a war, a war of blood purity amongst the Wizarding Kind, people you see there is a kind of caste system in the Wizarding World." Bathsheda started and Elizabeth felt her eye twitch slightly. _'Another caste system! I just escaped one flawed system in Columbia!'_ But she didn't say anything so as not to interrupt the retelling. "The main part you need to pay attention to is that it's ludicrous, a dying tradition and belief about the purity of blood. The Purebloods are the nobles, the ancient families that can trace magical nature through generations of family. Some of them are good people but a lot are... I don't want to speak ill of people even if it is true, bigots and racists and evil." She paused for a moment to have a drink. "Next are Half Bloods, people with a magical parent and a non-magical... or muggle parent, generally good, there aren't that many restrictions on them in the case of jobs, attitudes and other things but there's still a slight discrimination from the old families for not being pure enough." She tapped her fingers on the table, hesitating to start on the next section. "The last of the main three are muggleborns. Muggle being the term for non-magical person." She said and saw Elizabeth's nose crinkle in disgust at the name that was used... or the fizzy drink she had just tried, Bathsheda wasn't a hundred percent certain. She glanced at Harry to see him slowly picking at his food, not really eating much. "Eat Harry, I know you want to hear this but you need to eat especially after what happened earlier." She pointed out and Harry continued eating. "in the eyes of the Pureblood, Muggleborn students are scum. No magical parentage and as they claim, no respect for tradition or the way the world works. I believe it was a Malfoy that claimed that they should not be allowed to be taught magic. Many a Pureblood has believed that philosophy and it causes a lot of tension in the world."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named capitalized on this, he rallied the Purebloods in a way that few have ever done before. Grindelwald comes to mind but he... his story is different and wasn't built on blood purity. He rallied the Purebloods and created his army known as Death Eaters, with it he also rallied some of the darkest creatures that exist to fight with him. The Man was a Demon, anyone who stood against him died. So many families have been wiped from existence for standing against him or not joining him. Your family was one that opposed him, successfully on several occasion, that drew his full attention." She paused as Harry looked at her intently. "They found out he was coming for them and went into hiding. He found them on Halloween 1981." She paused again, taking a sip from her drink. She really didn't want to talk about this, this was something that McGonagall should have taken care of. "On that night your parents were murdered and then he turned his attention to you."

"Me? Why? I was just a baby." Harry protested, Elizabeth reaching up and putting a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Why would he want to kill me?"

"Why wouldn't he? The man was unhinged, he sadistically tortured both people that opposed him and his own allies. Besides, I don't want to sound callous by this but it makes some sort of sense. With you alive after having killed your parents, would you want to leave a potential threat alive to come back in the future to strike you down?" She asked and Elizabeth agreed that the point was valid, it was disgusting, but it was valid. "He turned his wand on you and tried to kill you with the same curse that he had used to kill a multitude of people but it didn't work. It apparently reflected back and killed him, with the only trace being that scar on your forehead." She explained and Harry almost automatically brought his hand up to his forehead here the scar rested, gently touching it. "His followers went to ground, those that didn't try to find him and get subsequently arrested probably spent more than a fair bit of money to keep out of prison, claims of mind control and manipulation saved others, but the only manipulation that was going on was the bribery in the ministry." She finished darkly before sighing. "Again, I'm not the right person to talk to about this, I missed a lot of it and the bits that I didn't miss, well I only got the information through what are no doubt biased sources and my own interpretation of those facts. There's still a lot of confusion and distrust even after all this time." She finished returning her attention to her food as she let the two think about what she had said.

They continued to eat in silence, Harry thinking about his parents, now knowing the truth, or as much of the truth as Bathsheda knew, was lost in thought. The Wizarding world sounded impressive at first, the ability to cast magic, to escape the Dursley's, to make a new life for himself. Already he was having these thoughts but they were now clouded, there was a darkness to the world that disturbed him. He didn't understand the situation entirely but this was one that was concerning to him. Elizabeth was less focused on the Dark Lord and more the blatant corruption in the society. It reminded her so much of Columbia it was scary. Still, someone needed her help and she was going to give it to them. Harry had shown potential in accessing her powers and she wanted to see how far she could take him with it. With the teaching position she'd be able to train him on the side. Along with her studies and other teaching assistant roles. Thinking of this, Elizabeth turned her attention away from her food at looked at Bathsheda. "What will my job require? I'm not really familiar with teaching." She spoke, the majority of her lessons had been self-study or with Rosalind Lutece back when she was younger but the rest. Isolation, books.

"I don't think you'll be expected to do much, Supervise the lessons, mark classwork for the younger years, tasks to ease the burden of the other professors so they can focus a bit more on their NEWT classes." Bathsheda explained. "You'll be doing your own studies alongside the classes so I don't think they'll pile too much of it on you. I think they'll use this year as a test to see if there is any benefit to it. Perhaps give you just the first years work and then if it helps them they may even hire more. Who knows having an assistant with each of the years may give more time for individual help from the Professors. Don't worry about how bad that sounds, the classes aren't that big at Hogwarts. The war left this generation a bit on the small side. Next year though..." She trailed off with a laugh. "I've already seen the list forming on who to invite. It got bigger. like double in size." She said and Elizabeth felt her eyes widen. if she was there for more than a year then her work load would dramatically increase, unless they hired more assistants." She stopped, realising that she had just started repeating herself and got herself back on track. "Tomorrow we'll get supplies, wands, books, clothes, potion supplies." Bathsheda rambled on a list of requirements before pausing, her palm coming up to her forehead with a loud slap of skin on skin. "And I can't believe I forgot to give this to you Harry." She said pulling an Envelope from her trouser pocket and holding it out to him. "Your official Hogwarts Letter." She finished and Harry stared at it.

He had not been able to get it before now, The Dursley's had done their best to keep it away from him, now here it sat, waiting for him to reach out and take it. In the back of his mind a darkness rippled, whispering that it was a joke, that they were going to snatch away the letter just before he could get it. Steal his hopes and dreams, stop him from escaping the Dursley's. He dismissed the idea almost as soon as it appeared and took the letter. He looked at the front of it, his address with his room written in emerald ink, he turned it over, his thumb running over the wax seal with the Hogwarts crest. Absently he noticed someone leaning over to his side to look at the letter and turned his head to look at Elizabeth who had the decency to blush lightly. "What?" She asked jokingly looking between the two. "I never got a letter." She said mock childishly and poked her tongue out at Bathsheda. There was a moment of silence before the action truly sunk in and Bathsheda started laughing at the action, followed by Elizabeth and Harry shortly after. "So, are you going to open it or just stare at the quite nice writing?" Elizabeth teased and Harry responded by opening the letter, pulling it out and beginning to read.

"Dear Mr Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on the first of September. We await your owl by no later than July 31st." At this he looked at Bathsheda who waved it off.

"We know the circumstances regarding your lack of response, we've already accepted on your behalf." She said dismissively then smiled. "Unless of course you don't want to go." She continued teasingly and Harry shook his head. "That's what I thought."

"For a letter introducing someone to a whole new world, it seems a bit thin. just a 'hello and welcome to the school go buy this.' That doesn't really do much to convince people that it isn't a joke." Elizabeth pointed out. "I'd be dubious about it. I'm pretty sure many others would be as well." Elizabeth pushed and Bathsheda shrugged.

"it's one of those tradition things, the letter hasn't actually changed much in so many years. It was the same back when I got mine. Though normally with Muggleborn students it was followed up by a visit within the day of arrival. The staff are very busy this time of year." She explained, "travelling all across the country to each of the potential students to make sure they realise that yes, it is real and no it is not some clever prank made by their friends. Haven't actually done it myself yet. Heard the reactions can be quite interesting." She said trailing off wistfully, still smiling. "Back to reality." She muttered more to herself than anyone else. "Tomorrow morning we'll head to London and to Diagon Alley, we'll get your supplies and wand and then I'll take you to Kings Cross to show you where the platform to catch the train is." She explained looking at Harry. "After that, I'm going to have to take Elizabeth to Hogwarts so she can meet with Dumbledore and hopefully get things prepared for the beginning of the year. However, I'll come back the day before you go to Hogwarts so that she can experience the trip as well. Everyone should do it at least once." Bathsheda said stopping for a second as another thought pushed to the front of her mind. "In fact I still need to speak to them this evening." She said in realisation. "I have technically abducted you, even if I'm treating you fine. I should at least attempt to speak to them, let them know where you are." She sighed, already in the back of her mind she could tell it was something that she wasn't going to enjoy. The size of Harry showed typical signs of neglect, underweight, hand me down clothing that would put even a homeless person to shame with how badly they fit. He was a member of a Noble and Ancient House and here he was looking like he lived on the street. "There are so many things that we need to cover in the near future." She said to Harry as she stood up, disposing of the rubbish from the table with a flick of her wand, the paper that the fish and chips had come in scrunching up into small balls of paper and launching themselves at the bin. "But, business before pleasure. To the Dursley's I go before it gets too late." She said checking her watch. "Six in the evening, I'm going to guess they're probably eating at this time right."

"Depends if my Aunt cooks or not." Harry said a hint of bitterness slipping into his voice before he caught himself. "I mean, yes, they should be at this point." Harry corrected himself, blushing at the looks he received. "Do you need me to come with?" He asked slowly and Bathsheda shook her head.

"No, you should be fine staying here for now. Elizabeth, do you mind coming with?" She asked, "That way I can have a witness... or someone to keep me under control." She added in a light tone to try and keep everything relaxed and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"It would be nice to get out of this house for a little bit." She conceded.

"I can imagine," Bathsheda agreed with a shudder before focusing on Harry. "You going to be okay on your own for a little bit?" She asked. It was unusual for her, to be looking after someone so long, she wasn't sure what she should or shouldn't be doing, she wasn't sure what the proper protocol or parenting rule was but she didn't see any harm in leaving him alone for a little while.

"I'll be fine." Harry said and Bathsheda frowned slightly but nodded her head. _'I get the feeling that I'll be fine, is going to be his go to phrase with anything that happens,'_ She thought as the two walked through the hallway and out the front door.

"We'll be back soon, don't open the door to strangers and all those things." Bathsheda called out lamely as the two left the house. Elizabeth paused as she closed the door behind her, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air before looking around. Looking at the houses if she needed a word to describe the scene it would have been bland. There was little to no variation across the street, Uniform white houses, with Uniform gardens, it screamed fake to her. People acting perfectly normal to cover up something underneath. Like it was all one big play that was going on around them. Moving to the street she glanced back at the house that she had just left, seeing the state of disarray it was in and it made her smile at its vast contrast to the rest of the houses in the street. overgrown garden, shabby paint, curtained up windows, it stood out. Just like she did in the clothing she was wearing in comparison to Bathsheda. "Number Four is down the road a bit. It'll only be a minute or two." She explained as they started walking, the click of Elizabeth's heels clicking on the floor as they walked. "How does it feel to be out of the house?"

"Like a breath of fresh air." She admitted with a smile, resisting the urge to throw her arms up and spin around happily before she pointed to a car. "What's that?" She asked in confusion and Bathsheda looked surprise.

"You don't know what a car is?" She asked and Elizabeth shook her head. "How out of time are you?" She questioned slowly before dismissing it for now. "A car is basically a horseless carriage powered by an engine." She explained and Elizabeth nodded her head slowly. "So keep to the path because I don't want you to get run over now as we make our way there. I don't think either of us would like that outcome." Bathsheda said trying to sound like she was making a joke but also carrying across the seriousness of the situation.

To Elizabeth though, she was side-tracked back to the day where she escaped the tower with Booker and the rift she had opened moments before his arrival and just how close she had come to being injured by a... car. She had seen books which had pictures of cars in before but this was vastly different, almost like they were completely different things all together. She now had a name for the vehicle that she almost let hit her. "What do we do when we arrive at the Dursley's?" Elizabeth questioned as they neared the house. At least if the numbers were anything to go by, at a glance they all looked alike.

"You will probably end up doing nothing, I've seen people like the Dursley's before, bullies that cower at the first sign of danger. I think I can be that bit of danger, don't you?" Bathsheda said with a menacing grin and Elizabeth nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. "Either way, any situation that is already potentially volatile should not be approached without some form of backup or assistance." She said sagely and Elizabeth nodded in understanding as they walked up. "Just let me do the talking and we shall be done and gone before anything truly kicks off." Bathsheda finished, lifting her hand and knocking on the door loudly. The two stood there in silence, waiting for the someone to come and didn't hear anything. She knocked again, louder. "Come on Dursley open the damn door." She muttered under her breath before she heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up to the door and stepped back slightly as it was flung open.

"Who's there, what do you want?" An angry man, his face a tint of purple practically shouted, Bathsheda leaning back as she felt bits of spittle hit her in the face. She grimaced bringing a hand up and wiping it off.

"Mr Dursley?" She questioned and the glare from the man increased.

"We're not interested in buying anything!" He went to slam the door shut on them.

"That's good because we're not trying to sell you anything or preach anything." She enforced through gritted teeth. "We're here about your Nephew."

"Nephew? Whatever that brat has done is his own damn fault." He snapped and went to shut the door again. Bathsheda brought her wand up and pushed the door back with a wave of magic sending him stumbling back. "You can't do this! This is trespassing, I should phone the police." He snapped, having not registered just what she had done at the angle he was standing.

"I told you, we're here to talk about your Nephew. You interrupted so I had to interrupt you. Now, we are going to talk to him about his schooling for the immediate future."

"You're one of those freaks!" Vernon said, colour draining from his face as he backed away towards the living room.

"I'm sorry... What did you just call me!?" Bathsheda snapped and Vernon jumped back as if burnt. "I assure you Dursley, I am no freak, I am a highly trained Witch who currently is barely holding back against a rude bully." She growled, her wand pointed at him as he backed into the room. The two followed after him, Elizabeth slightly hesitantly as she watched a side of Bathsheda that made her slightly uncomfortable. "Hello Mrs Dursley." Bathsheda spoke almost pleasantly as Vernon stumbled back into his chair, sitting down with a loud thump.

"Why are you here. We haven't done anything wrong with the boy." She protested nervously and angrily at the same time.

"How about not letting him have his letter." Bathsheda said calmly, lowering the wand.

"I will not pay for him to go to some freakish school and learn magic tricks!" Vernon Snapped, moving to rise up again and Bathsheda raised an eyebrow.

"Even though you know it's already been paid for. Or did you think his parents would have left it unprepared?" She asked with disdain. There was something about these two that really tugged at her self-control. Perhaps it was the fact that his son, who was sat on the sofa by his wife was about three times the size of Harry in width, or the fact that between the two of them they probably outweighed a small elephant. Or as Elizabeth was beginning to see as she looked around the room, there was nearly no proof that Harry even existed here, no photo's no schoolwork left to the side, nothing. "He will be attending Hogwarts on the first of September. He will be away for the rest of this evening and most probably the majority of tomorrow." She stated without any chance for them to argue. "When he returns, he will not be punished for it." She said with a serious edge to her voice.

"Can I ask a question?" Elizabeth asked softly, a sharp contrast to the harshness of Bathsheda. "Why is there nothing of Harry around here?" She asked glancing at Petunia Dursley who glared.

"We didn't want him; he was nothing but trouble. He's always disrupting his class at school, he's always causing trouble and with that Freakishness of his I knew it was just going to get worse." Petunia snapped and Elizabeth frowned.

"He's your family. How can you say something like that about him?" She questioned as she focused on the woman, Elizabeth didn't hate people, she really did try to see the best in everyone, but this woman, to be so cruel to her own flesh and blood, to be so hurtful to them. The fact that she was willing to say this to a stranger, to someone who had never met her or possibly will never meet her again, there was no doubt she would be willing to say this to his face as well.

"We didn't want him. It's not our fault that Perfect Lilly Potter went and got herself blown up! Always walking around so smug and arrogant because of her abilities. Look where it got her in the end. We are normal people, living normal lives, we don't want any of their freakishness here and yet your people dropped him on our doorstep in the middle of the night with a note." Petunia snapped angrily and Elizabeth let out a small huh in surprise.

"Is that right." She muttered glancing at Bathsheda who shrugged, the wind taken slightly out of her sails. Not entirely but enough to make her think. No this was not a valid excuse for their treatment of Harry. It was still disgusting what they had done, but to have a child dropped on their doorstep with only a letter and not even checking in. Things were getting stranger the longer she paid attention to it. Anyone could easily see they wouldn't have been happy to take Harry in but to do so without checking in on him. "I'll look after him for the rest of the Holiday." Elizabeth spoke up suddenly, surprising practically everyone in the room.

"You'll what?" Bathsheda, Vernon and Petunia all said at the same time.

"You two don't want him, that much is obvious and the last thing he needs is a negative environment like this. He's eleven years old, he shouldn't be dealing with this." She spoke quietly, a haunted tone seeping into her voice. "I'll take care of him for the rest of the Holiday." She repeated and looked at Bathsheda with determination. "We can still deal with the other stuff, but this isn't a good place for him and for all people involved." She finished and Bathsheda frowned for a few moments before shrugging.

"Fine, at least I don't have to be the responsible adult," She joked trying to ease the tension. "We'll just go get his stuff and..." She was cut off.

"NO!" Petunia quickly and loudly protested. "I mean... I'll get his clothing, this is our house and you've stayed longer than needed or wanted." She snapped and stood up, quickly moving out of the room.

"That's that sorted." Bathsheda muttered still frowning as she looked at Vernon. "But you and me Mr Dursley... we're not, if I ever, and I do mean EVER catch you calling one of our kind freaks or anything derogatory again..." She trailed off with a warning tone.

"How dare you!?" Vernon snapped, his face shifting colours between pink, purple and puce. Idly, Bathsheda wondered whether or not he was actually a metamorphmagus but dismissed that. If he was, would he really hold that form?

"I dare because I know what it's like to suffer treatment like that from relatives. I know what it's like to see children destroyed because their family can't see the wonderful gift that they've been given. A child with untold potential." She snapped. "You owe him your lives, yet you can't see that because you're too busy blinded by hatred. That boy is a hero amongst us. He would have been treated like royalty by anyone in our community. The least you could have done was show him a small bit of love and respect." She finished and Elizabeth, who had been watching her, reached up, gently touching her arm.

"I'll finish it from here." Elizabeth said softly and Bathsheda stormed out of the room to wait for Harry's items. "How you act is your choice. I won't continue to comment on what I have not seen." She started slowly, her eyes locked on to Vernon, piercing blue focused on Grey eyes. "When we leave I just want you to think on this one thing." She paused gesturing at Dudley. "If the roles had been reversed and you and your wife had died." She paused and Vernon went pale.

"Is that a threat?" He tried to ground out and sound intimidating.

"Did it sound like a threat?" She asked in surprise. "It was asked to make you THINK!" She snapped, she was trying to be patient with them but it was difficult, there was just so much hatred it was blinding them. "How would you have wanted them to treat Dudley if you had died? How do you think Lily and James Potter would have treated him if you had lost your life?" She pushed again and Vernon was almost stunned into silence. "Please, I'm not asking you to declare him a second son. I'm asking you to treat him like a human being, to treat him like he's family and not something unwanted that you've been unable to dispose of." She almost pleaded as she looked at Vernon, willing him to understand.

"His belongings." Petunia spoke up from the doorway, her voice quiet and thoughtful. Elizabeth turned to her, walked over and calmly took the battered bag that it was packed in.

"Thank you, we'll be on our way now." She spoke moving carefully past her. "Think about what I've said. Anything could have happened. Anything CAN happen." She said with concern before turning waking out the door after Bathsheda. The two walked in silence, neither saying anything as they made their way back to the temporary lodging. Bathsheda kept glancing at Elizabeth, confusion the primary state in the looks but also amazement. about halfway there, she broke the silence.

"I'm impressed." She started.

"Hmm?" Elizabeth responded, glancing back at Bathsheda.

"You kept calm and collected even when I was getting angry. I was ready to use all kinds of magic with how they were acting and you just stood there and made them think." She explained and Elizabeth blushed slightly at the praise.

"I could have done something drastic, I wanted to do something drastic. I could have shown them exactly what life without Harry could have been like." She explained quietly as they walked past a couple of people.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because there is no definite path to what it would have been like. Harry brings change and variation wherever he goes. I could see several possibilities, not all good and not all bad. I didn't want to take the chance that I'd bring the wrong one into existence, to show them that life could have been better without Harry and reinforce the hatred that they felt. Instead I wanted to see if they could change. There is good in them, they just need to see it themselves." She reasoned and Bathsheda grabbed her arm stopping her as they arrived at the house.

"When you say you can see the possibilities. How do you mean?" She questioned slowly and Elizabeth paled realising that she had said too much.

"It's related to that power. I can see every dimension, every timeline, every possibility, I can't see everything at every time, in fact I try and shut it out. I can pull it into existence, I can go to it and I can take other people to it. I can't guarantee returning to the right one though. There is an infinite number of them and trying to find the one that you came from is the same as finding a specific needle in a haystack made entirely of needles." She explained and Bathsheda frowned as her brain worked overtime to comprehend everything. The theory of Alternate Dimensions existed, even in the Magical World, but it was just a theory and here was someone not only confirming it but claiming to be able to act as a window into it.

"Don't tell anyone else about this." Bathsheda said after several minutes of silence.

"I didn't plan to."

"Good, not that I don't trust you in regards to this, but there are a lot of people on both sides of the field that would kill to have your power. It could shift the balance in the Wizarding World in a way that You Know Who couldn't even imagine." Bathsheda quickly and quietly explained. "There's a saying, you probably already know it. Power corrupts..." She trailed off waiting for Elizabeth to take over and after a few seconds she did.

"And Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely." She finished and Bathsheda nodded her head.

"There are so many good people who would be willing to risk it all to try and bring about one of those brighter futures. They would probably be willing to risk it with your power as well, all for a greater good." She said in concern and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"I understand, but there is one person I have to tell." Elizabeth said glancing back at the house. Bathsheda knowing exactly who she was referring to.

"He's already one step above others so far, he can see the rifts, or at least he saw one earlier when I pulled that bookcase through." She explained. "I don't know whether its temporary or not though." She finished before walking up to the door of the house. They entered the house, walking through to the living room and stopped. "I guess he was more exhausted than we realised." She muttered quietly as she looked at the sleeping form of Harry on the sofa. "Can you get him upstairs?" She asked and Bathsheda nodded. Elizabeth walked over, carefully lifting the book out of his hands as Bathsheda started to levitate him to the bedroom he had been sleeping in earlier. Elizabeth looked at the book, _Hogwarts: A History_ "I guess he wanted to learn a bit more about where his parents went." She said quietly and placed the book back on the bookcase. She sat down on the sofa, looking around the darkened room and frowned. Part of her wanted to just walk away. The man she had been chasing was long gone from here and she needed to continue looking for him. Another part of her though, didn't want to leave what was happening here. Harry had few people in the world and she had promised to take care of him to the Dursley's and she was going to keep her word.

She leant back into the sofa, closing her eyes, yawning slightly as she did. Part of her feared falling asleep, afraid that she'd never wake up again. Part of her feared that she would be back in Columbia, none of this having ever happened. She yawned again. Things were getting interesting again.

 _TBC_

When I finished this chapter it was just shy of 10k words, which was pretty good, I've reread it several times and added bits and pieces here and there and that pushed it over the 10k margin. Yay me!

Elizabeth is vague with her powers and downplays them because she's still trying to get a gauge on everything, even with how she spelt it out to Bathsheda at the end there, she was not 100% accurate with the description of her powers. I know this and I'm working with that as I write.

At the time of posting this, one week has passed and I've completed chapter 11. I'm now aiming to do one chapter a week so I'll constantly be uploading them. I nearly failed when I started though, I returned to work and ended up working a 12 day straight across 2 weeks and have barely had the energy to write. So tired.

And yes i realise that Elizabeth would probably realise what a car was but at the same time, lived in seclusion for all those years, even with books and information that were in her tower i do still believe she'd be a bit clueless about certain things. I may have pushed it a bit much with that but it just seemed to flow into the chapter as i wrote


	3. Chapter 3: The Alley and the Hat

**Chapter 3: The Alley and the Hat**

 _Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Bioshock or Harry Potter they each belong to their respective owners_

He awoke stiffly, the softness of the bed surprising him as he opened his eyes looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He turned his head slowly trying to clear the sleep induced fog in his head as he tried to remember where he was. Images of the afternoon just passed came to mind and he realised where he was. The 'Haunted' house at the end of the street where he had stumbled across the truth about who and what he was.

He could do magic.

He was a Wizard.

He was going to a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was going to escape the Dursley's for the year he would be at the school. He sat up looking around, reaching for his glasses. He slipped them on looking at the tattered room and saw the bag and a note on top sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, Harry kicked his legs off the edge of the bed and walked over, opening the back to see several sets of his clothes stuffed hastily into the bag. He grabbed the note, opening it to take a look at who had written it.

 _Harry,_

 _This is all the stuff that your Aunt packed when we went to the house yesterday._

 _We're going to be heading to Diagon Alley to get your School things today. We'll be downstairs waiting for you when you're ready._

 _Bathsheda_

He pulled out a change of clothes, quickly getting dressed and making his way downstairs, making sure the belt for his trousers was tight enough. The disadvantage of having a much larger cousin and hand me down clothes was that they really didn't fit and the belt had to have several extra holes punched into the thing so that it could be pulled tighter. Looking at himself in the dusty mirror, he dismissed his appearance, he was used to it by now, messy black hair, baggy unkempt and worn clothes. They were part of who he was, he walked out the room and down the stairs, keeping quiet if anyone was still sleeping and made his way towards the kitchen but he could hear talking coming from the kitchen.

"You can't tell me about the sorting? What I've read in the book is so vague, just we're chosen for a house but with nothing to say how we're chosen." Elizabeth said as she held a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other, glancing up at the other end of the table.

"No one can say what it is, it's one of the little charms that go into it. The mystery and the intrigue that come with the Sorting is that the information can only be told to people who already know. To the rest we can only be vague." She explained and Elizabeth pouted at the non-answer that she was given. "Cheer up Elizabeth, you'll get to see what the sorting looks like when you arrive later today. Remember you'll be sorted when we go."

"This is all confirmed isn't it? I Wouldn't want to turn up and then be told 'sorry it's not possible' and have to leave again after you've got my hopes up." She said seriously though trying to keep the tone of the conversation light.

"Dumbledore himself sent a message last night after you had fallen asleep. He's looking forward to speaking to you." Bathsheda explained and looked up at the doorway as Harry walked in. "Morning sleeping beauty." She teased lightly and Harry blushed.

"Morning." He replied as he sat down.

"How are you feeling today? You were dead to the world last night when we got back." She commented before having another drink from her cup.

"I'm fine, I was reading and then next thing I'm waking up in that bed." Harry explained as Bathsheda passed him a plate of food. "Thank you." He muttered to her and started to eat, still trying to wake up fully.

"After you've eaten we're going to be heading to Diagon Alley. We'll be taking the Knight Bus." She explained, "it's the easiest of magical transportation to use. Portkeys need to be set up through official Ministry means, unless you're Dumbledore. We're not connected to the Floo Network and I don't have any Floo Powder and in theory I could side along apparate you both but that would be quite tiring."

As she was explaining this, Harry glanced at an equally confused Elizabeth, "does this mean anything to you?" He questioned and she shook her head.

"I have no idea what she's talking about." She muttered back and the two started chuckling.

"Okay, okay, I've already warned you both I tend to ramble in my explanations. You should see my Seventh Year Classes; they're always having to chime in to bring me back to focus. Although, in all fairness, the tangents I go on with those conversations always end up being relevant to the topic at hand." She protested weakly causing the two to laugh even more. "Anyway, the Knight Bus, we'll catch that, head to London, get your supplies and then head back to drop the stuff off at my house." She spoke quickly and caught the look of surprise on Harry's face. "You don't have to worry about your relatives for the rest of the Summer, Elizabeth here..." She paused, giving Elizabeth a pointed look. "Decided to declare that she'd look after you for the rest of the Holiday even though she has no job, no money, no house, no knowledge of anything around here, no..."

"Okay! I get the idea, it was a very rash and impulsive decision." Elizabeth cut in on the tirade, glancing at Harry to see him staring at her with a look of amazement. "It wasn't right for you to be in that sort of environment... And it was best to remove him from there with what I left them to think about." Elizabeth spoke the last part to Bathsheda. "Routines are too easy to fall into and that horrible routine would be so much easier to fall back into if he returned there today, this way they get left with their own thoughts, draw their own conclusions and come to their own decision without the chance that Harry's presence will affect their judgement." She continued and Bathsheda nodded in agreement.

"Since that has happened, by proxy I'm going to be looking after the pair of you." She finished and then placed her head in her hands. "A mother of two at my age, what would my parents say?" She asked in mock sadness, causing everyone to chuckle. "So you two will be staying at mine. There should be enough room, though one of us will have to sleep on the couch." She forewarned flicking he wand, cleaning off the plates and sending them back into the cupboard from which they had come.

"Talking about shopping..." Elizabeth started up again after a few moments of silence. "I need to get some more clothes. I don't think I can continue wearing the same clothing day after day." She said and Bathsheda felt like kicking herself for not thinking about that. Glancing at Harry she saw the clothing he was wearing and decided to get him some more clothes.

"You're right, we'll need to go to Gringotts first. It's the wizarding bank, I'll need to get some money converted if we're going to get you some clothes." She said and Elizabeth smiled gratefully.

"I'll pay you back for it." She said but Bathsheda waved her off.

"I work in one of the most prestigious schools in all of the Magical World, I live there ten months of the year with room and board all supplied by the School. To be honest, I'm amazed I get paid as much as I do." She explained as she stood up. "I can afford to spend money on other people every now and again." She said dismissively as the three made their way out of the house. "Now to make sure this place looks just like we left it." She waved her wand, muttering something that Elizabeth couldn't hear and in her head she wanted to say 'like magic' but realised the craziness of saying that, dust appeared over all the surfaces. "Time to catch a bus." She said practically marching the other two to the road. "When you get your wands you'll be able to call it as well, all you need to do is get to a road, raise your wand up and..."

 _BANG_

A Triple Decker bright purple bus appeared at the road side in front of the three. Harry and Elizabeth had jumped back at the loud noise, glancing around to see if anyone else had noticed but none of the people in the street didn't even seem to acknowledge there was anything here, let alone a bus that had appeared from nowhere. "They can't see it." Bathsheda said quietly as she waited for the door to open up. "Spells protect it so it can't be seen by Non Magical people." She explained.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, Magical Transport for the Witch or Wizard in need." The Conductor of the bus spoke almost bored and stepped to one side to let the trio on.

"Two adults and a child to Diagon Alley." Bathsheda said handing over several coins that neither Harry or Elizabeth recognised.

"Right you are, you're the second stop so take a seat and we'll be on our way." The man said and the trio sat down on the edge of one of the beds that littered the area.

"Beds?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Magic is strange, sometimes a simple trip can take a lot longer than anticipated. The beds are for those passengers." She explained as the Bus shot off with another loud bang, the beds shifting wildly as Harry and Elizabeth struggled to keep hold of the bed as it moved.

"How does anyone manage to stay seated in this place, let alone stay in the bed?" Harry called out as he almost slipped off the edge only held back by Elizabeth grabbing his shirt, pulling him back onto the bed. Bathsheda glanced at the two and smiled cheekily.

"Why Elizabeth, he's a bit young for you don't you think?" She asked teasingly and Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror and her face instantly went red. Harry didn't hear what was said as he readjusted how he was sitting "To answer your question, most of us have gotten used to it." She stated honestly, "I've travelled on this thing so many times now I can practically feel the turns before they happen, lean left." She said suddenly and they did as the bus made another sharp turn. "But that's the fun of the Knight Bus, and still one of the more comfortable ways to travel in comparison to the others." She admitted and smiled again as the two shared a look. "Yes, it's actually worse to travel by some of the other methods." She admitted as the bus came to a sudden halt, the beds sliding forwards sharply. "Next stop is ours. let's try and stay in one piece shall we." She joked as the bus shot off again, nearly throwing them off the back of the bed. Harry looked around, seeing other wizards and witches all calmly sat reading newspapers with almost no acknowledgement that the bus was throwing them around wildly. He was both impressed at that and also annoyed at how easy they made it look.

"Next stop: Leaky Cauldron for Diagon Alley." The conductor called as the bus skidded to a halt again. a few others were quick to leave and Bathsheda ushered them out into the busy road. Harry looked up and down the street at all the different stores, he had never been to London before. The Dursley's had always made sure to leave him with Mrs Figg when they went. Seeing this many people was disorientating for him, and all the shops as well. It was an impressive sight.

And there in the middle of the hustle and bustle of city life was a rundown pub. No one seemed to be paying any attention to it, passing by glancing at shops on either side of it or completely blanking its existence. "The Leaky Cauldron, those without magic can only get in with the help of those with magic. You'd think they'd do more to make the first doorway to the Wizarding World look better but they haven't. Now Harry, I've got to warn you, you're a bit of a celebrity, if they recognise you, they'll probably hoard you to greet you. I'll do my best to keep you out of their attention but we'll see how this goes." Bathsheda commented as she pushed open the door walking into the bar.

If the outside was run down, the inside was worse. it was dark, grimy and something felt a bit off to Elizabeth. she looked around at the wizards and witches and it was a bit busy but nothing too drastic, a few looked up as they walked in but turned their attention away from them apparently they were either not worth the attention or they had been waiting for someone else to arrive. She saw the bartender nod in greeting to them and upon seeing Bathsheda, spoke up.

"Ah, Miss Babbling, a pleasure to see you again." He called out and Bathsheda greeted him in response.

"Hi Tom, another day of escorting for the Professors of Hogwarts." She said cheerfully as they made their way to the back door, ushered along by Bathsheda.

"More students? One looks a bit too old to be a student." He said joyfully and then caught a more focused look on Harry. "Bless my Soul, Harry Potter." He said in shock and in that moment, Bathsheda could have cursed him. She could have cursed him with several very painful and very borderline illegal curses.

The sound of wood on wood as people quickly stood, their stools and chairs scraping across the floor as they tried to catch a glimpse of Harry. Elizabeth moved to stand in front of him protectively but was almost barrelled out the way as they tried to greet their hero.

"Welcome back Mr Potter, welcome back."

"You saved my husband's life."

"You saved all of our lives."

It went on, Both Bathsheda and Elizabeth tried to get to him but the group of well-wishers were most persistent. after a few more minutes, Elizabeth had enough. She moved around to Bathsheda and asked for her wand. Bathsheda confused, relented and handed it to her. She stepped back to the other side of the room, watching intently. There was something here she could tap into, something that she could pull into this reality to force them to break apart. Lifting the wand but not saying anything she focused, a tear forming and a magical induced blast of wind shot across the room, separating wizards and witches from Harry. "That is ENOUGH!" Elizabeth snapped angrily, pocketing the wand as they all looked at her in shock. "You're interfering in personal business and you're harassing an eleven-year-old kid!" She chewed them out as she walked back over, forcing herself to block the way. "What's the matter with you? Are you not all adults?" She snapped and many of them had the decency to look embarrassed and taken aback by the action. "Leave him alone and return to what you were doing." She finished and guided Harry out the back door. Bathsheda chuckled quietly as she followed closing the door behind her. "I think we took the wrong route..." Elizabeth commented looking around at the dingy alleyway.

"First of all, nice cover work for what you did." Bathsheda started and Elizabeth smiled at the praise. "Secondly, I need my wand." She pointed out and Elizabeth gasped in realisation, quickly fishing it out of her pocket and handing it back to Bathsheda. "Now, we have the fun part, step back and let me do my great introduction." She walked past the two of them pointing her wand at the wall at the back of the alley and tapped several bricks. Slowly the sound of grating stone alerted the two newcomers to the magic in effect as bricks started to move out the way shifting into an archway. "Welcome..." She started stepping to one side allowing the two to see straight down the busy street that lay ahead of them. "To Diagon Alley." She finished and gave a slightly over dramatic bow as she stepped back further to give a completely unobstructed view of the area.

People in robes moved between stores that looked like they had come straight out of the Victorian Era. Signs for Owls, Cauldrons, Wands, Enchantments. There was so many things and Harry wanted to see them all. Before he could move off to look though, Bathsheda stepped back in the way. "Before we get lost window shopping, we should make our way to Gringotts, we need to sort out money to pay for it all." She reminded pointing down the street. "That giant white building is where we need to go." She explained and started to lead the duo down to it. As they walked they could hear snippets of conversation.

 _"I bet Snape is going to be hell again this year."_

 _"The Chudley Cannons, bottom of the league. Do you think they'll ever win a game?"_

 _"How much for a Cauldron? This is robbery!"_

 _"When my father hears about this!"_

The two kept silent as they walked, the situation in the pub having thrown Harry a bit, he had been expecting some sort of reaction after hearing what had happened to his parents and what happened with You-Know-Who, but to actually witness it first hand as he had was another thing altogether. He looked at Elizabeth who smiled at him reassuringly. His thoughts on her were equally as confused, did she volunteer to look after him just out of obligation as some kind of debt for freeing her from her stasis? Or was she genuinely concerned for his wellbeing? It was difficult to decide at the moment.

"Enter, Stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed." Bathsheda spoke up as they reached the end of the street standing at the steps up to Gringotts bank. "Part of the motto for Gringotts, only a fool would try and steal from this location. One of the most secure places ever built." She finished with a slight mischievous smile as she walked up towards the open heavy duty double doors that acted as the entrance. The two followed and reached the doorway, freezing in their tracks as they saw the workers.

"What are they?" Harry whispered looking at the creatures that were sat at the desks serving patrons.

"Goblins Harry, they're the bankers of the Wizarding World, fearsome warriors, remember to be respectful and you'll probably start on the right foot with them." She quickly explained before they made their way to an available bench.

"Yes?" The Goblin spoke abruptly.

"I'm here to visit my Vault, number 326 and also take Mr Potter here to his Trust Vault." She said bluntly with a slight gesture at Harry.

"And does Mr Potter have his key?" The Goblin asked and Bathsheda held up a key.

"We wouldn't be here if I didn't." She said calmly and the Goblin nodded.

"Telmax! Take them to their vaults." He ordered as another, smaller Goblin moved over and gestured for them to follow him.

"Thank you, have a good day." Bathsheda said and turned away.

Harry had been watching the interaction between the two and saw the look of surprise cross the Goblin's face as she thanked him. The three followed Telmax into a corridor that led to a cart of some description attached to a rail above them. Elizabeth looked at the rail and smiled, reminded of events in her past as she stepped in to it. Harry followed, sitting next to her and Bathsheda sat on the end. "Hold on." Telmax said and immediately hit the lever to start the Mine Cart. Twists and turns at high speeds in the darkness disorientated Harry as he tried to mentally keep track of where they had gone, briefly he thought he saw a glimpse of flames and a giant lizard of some sort.

"Was that a Dragon?" Harry asked and Bathsheda nodded.

"I told you it would be folly to try and rob this place." She said as the cart came to a stop outside of Bathsheda's vault. She stepped out and gestured for them to wait in the cart as she followed the Goblin up to the door, using her key to unlock the vault.

"What do you think of this place so far?" Elizabeth asked and Harry drew his attention away from the glimmer that came from the vault to focus on her.

"It's interesting. I wasn't expecting that much of a greeting when we arrived." He explained lightly before sighing. "Everyone seems to have high expectations for me, I'm not sure I can live up to what they expect of me."

"Then don't." Elizabeth stated honestly as Bathsheda exited the vault. "Be yourself, be true to yourself." She said and he smiled at her as Bathsheda sat down and the Goblin started the cart again. "Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to not listen to the people that would cause us grief and just be who we are." She explained. "From what I've seen of you already, you're a good person Harry and you have a lot of potential." She said quietly, barely audible over the wind blowing into them. "Ugh, this is going to mess up my hair." She pouted and Harry chuckled.

A minute later the cart came to a stop. Bathsheda and Harry got out. Elizabeth sat intending to wait for them to be done but Harry turned to her. "You coming?" He asked and after a moment's hesitation she nodded climbing out of the cart. Bathsheda pulled the key out and went to hand it to him before stopping.

"Woops, almost gave you my key... that could have been embarrassing." She said as she fished out his key and handed it to him. He waited with baited breath as the door opened, biting his lip in nervousness, this vault was his parents, it was a connection to them, what they had left him. Yes, it was money but it was still further proof that they cared for him.

What he was not expecting though was the sheer quantity of it. Mountains of Gold coins, piles of Silver coins and heaps of Bronze coins. He stepped into the vault looking at the money that was there. "Galleons, Sickles and Knuts." Bathsheda started and at his look clarified. "The Gold coins are the Galleons, the Silver are Sickles and the Bronze, Knuts." She told him before explaining the conversion rate. He listened intently as he collected the money, bagging it up into a money bag that the Goblin had handed him which seemed to hold a lot more than it should have. Soon enough they were back in the cart and on their way back up to the Lobby. Bathsheda making a brief detour to convert some of her money into Muggle money. With that they were back in the alley and looking where to go first.

"We'll get your wands last, that normally takes a little while if you're unlucky. We'll probably be best getting your trunks first and then books and potion supplies. Then Robes and we'll take a look in the pet shop." She explained already walking up the street on the way to one of the shops.

"Do you think we should warn her that she's already walked off without us?" Harry asked as Bathsheda started to disappear into the crowd.

"I think she'll notice in a moment. I can see the trunk shop from here, it's just down there on the left. We can make our way there." Elizabeth laughed as the two walked towards the destination. As they arrived they saw Bathsheda running to catch up with them having drifted off towards one the other speciality stores.

"Oh I'm so sorry you two. I saw some new Rune supplies that I've been toying with getting. I may have drawn myself to my work and got a bit side-tracked again." She said sheepishly as they walked into the shop.

"Good Morning." The store clerk greeted.

"Morning, I need to get some trunks sorted out, one for Harry here and one for Elizabeth."

"Just a standard Trunk?" The Clerk asked as he started moving along the rows of chests and trunks that he had.

"Multi compartment ones preferably, three or four in total." She said and looked back at the two. "Normally I would have just suggested a basic trunk for you Harry, but it only costs a little bit more and will allow you to store a lot more, it's worth the extra if you ask me. Elizabeth, I'm getting you the trunk because you're going to need it, not only with the text books but also because you're going to pretty much have a new Wardrobe brought today and you're going to have the extra added with the Assistant stuff. Busy, busy, busy." Bathsheda finished and turned back to the counter a loud thump signalling the arrival of their trunks. She paid the money, drew her wand and cast spells, shrinking them down to a miniscule size that reminded Harry of the Micro Machine toys that Dudley had... before they were destroyed in one of his greed induced rages. She pocketed the trunks and they were already back on the street before Harry fully realised what was going on. "The joys of magic, makes shopping so much easier." She joked as they went to the next shop.

On and on it went, Potions, cauldrons, books, so many books. Not only did he have his school books but he had also grabbed several other books that caught his attention, a bit of history both modern and old, a couple of books about Hogwarts and even a few spell books that covered various charms and a few defensive spells. Elizabeth almost had to be dragged out of the fiction section. To her it was a miniature heaven. She loved to read and all of the new stories that were there were just waiting to be read. Along with the set of First Year books, she also got several to assist with her teaching assistant role, books on culture and law and a few on Bloodlines of the Wizarding World. After about an hour in there, she was finally pulled out with the cry from Bathsheda that she was going to bankrupt her if she didn't leave now and that they could come back another day after she had some of her own money.

"Three things now to get. Wand, Robes and a Pet." Bathsheda summed up and then let out a small 'huh' of realisation. "I rhymed, maybe there's a bit of a poet in me that I never discovered." She commented in amusement. "We'll get your wands first, we've managed to pick up a bit more time, somehow I think you're going to be the difficult one." She said giving Elizabeth a pointed look. Elizabeth was a bit confused at that, how did a wand selection even work? How was she going to be awkward?

They made their way to the store, another old and very dusty store. _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._ The two were confused on how to feel, on one hand, the sign seemed to indicate that the store had been around for a long time, however it seemed that the more recent years whichever of the descendants were running the store had let it get into this run down state.

They entered, the bell tingling away as they pushed the door open. Inside was deathly silence, a counter sat in the room and behind it was piles and piles of boxes.

"Good Afternoon." A quiet male voice spoke up, the three of them jumped in shocked as the man seemingly appeared behind the counter almost as if he had appeared from nowhere.

"Geez!" Bathsheda cried out. "How do you keep doing that!?" She asked, her hand going to her chest. "Every time!" She said and he just smiled.

"Ah, Harry Potter... I wondered when you were going to be visiting my store." He said with a smile that unnerved him slightly. "I am Ollivander, Garrick Ollivander. My family has run this store for generations. I remember when your parents came here all those years ago." He said pleasantly though something about him still set him on edge. "Your father favoured a Mahogany wand. Eleven Inches, pliable. He did many a great thing with it, His skills in Transfiguration were nearly unmatched." He explained as he looked between the two.

"You remember my father?" Harry asked in surprise and he smiled.

"I remember every wand I ever sold and who bought them." He stopped as he glanced at the Lightning Bolt scar. "Ah forgive me, as I said, I remember every wand I've sold, I am afraid to say the wand I sold gave you that scar." He said sombrely and Harry shivered a cold chill running down his spine. "On to lighter notes, your mother's wand was a made of willow, ten and a quarter inches long... Swishy. It excelled at Charm Work." He said, shifting his focus on the conversation and glancing at Elizabeth and frowning slightly. "I don't recognise you..." He trailed off in confusion.

"That would be because I'm here to get a wand." Elizabeth said in response.

"Ah, a late comer. Interesting, you should be very interesting." He said as he turned back to Harry. "Now, which is your wand arm?"

"My what?" Harry asked in confusion glancing at Bathsheda.

"Your dominant hand, the one you write with and stuff like that." She explained and Harry let out an 'Ah' of understanding.

"I'm right handed, he said as Ollivander lifted Harry's arm and started to measure him with a Tape measure.

"The Wand chooses the Wizard Mr Potter, or Witch." He added the extra with a glance to Elizabeth. "No two wands are identical; no two cores are the same. Every Wand is unique." He explained, disappearing into the back area. Harry realising that the tape measure was currently measuring him by itself and was currently measuring the distance between his ear and his mouth. Moments later Ollivander walked back into view with a small stack of boxes. He took a wand out of the first box, handing it to Harry who stared at it. "Well go on, give it a wave." He said and Harry went to flick the wand but Ollivander grabbed it back before he could fully. "No, no, no." He muttered putting it away before handing him another.

The pile of wands that he had brought were quickly moved into a pile of rejected wands. Harry was starting to get concerned that he wouldn't find a wand to accept him but Ollivander just seem more determined to succeed at the challenge. "Tricky, Mr Potter... Very Tricky. But I haven't failed to sell a wand yet... I wonder." He trailed off walking to the back area and coming back with one box, a layer of dust on top of it. he blew the dust off and opened the box. "Try this Wand, Mr Potter. Holly, Eleven inches the core of a phoenix feather." He said handing Harry the wand.

Taking the wand, Harry felt a surge of power rush through his body, power inside of him surging up and around him as he held onto it. He flicked the wand, Red sparks flickering out of the end of the wand. "Excellent Mr Potter, we have found your wand." He said happily as he handed over the box that the wand had come in. "But curious, very curious." He said with a frown.

"I'm sorry, but what's curious?" Harry asked as he boxed the wand.

"I remember every wand that I've ever sold Mr Potter." He repeated again and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How many times did the man have to say that? "The Phoenix that gave the feather for your core, gave just one more feather. The wand that holds that core is the one that gave you that scar." He said before smiling. "I'm sure we can expect many great things out of you in the years to come Mr Potter."

Left with plenty to think about, he stepped back, Elizabeth stepping forwards. "It will be interesting to find a wand for you." He said as he held up the tape measure. "A Wizard and Witch are normally given a wand at an early age because their Magical Core has yet to fully develop. It is easier for it to make a connection." Ollivander explained as he moved away again, gathering boxes. "I think I'm going to have to dig into some of the older wands to find you the right one." He said in amusement as he came back to the front, the Tape Measure dropped to the floor as he did, having finished its job.

The same routine happened, wands would have little to no effect or were snatched out of her hand before she could even wave it. Ollivander having started bringing out dustier and dustier boxes.

She picked up one wand and it practically exploded in her hand, she threw it away as it started to heat up dramatically and jumped as it knocked over several stacks. "Oh god, I'm sorry." She said quickly and Ollivander dismissed it as he handed her the next wand. "I'm almost not sure I want to try more wands if that's going to be the result." She said sheepishly.

"It is fine; you won't be the first customer that damaged the store in some shape or form. It is why the store looks like it does, eventually I spent less time maintaining the store so that I could repair it faster." He explained as Elizabeth took the wand the question that they had asked each other back before they entered the store had been answered and it made a lot of sense.

She waved the wand a beam of light trailing along from the end of it. "I think we have a perfect match." He said, "Eleven and Three Quarter Inches, Oak with a Thestral Hair as the core. An unusual Core, suitable for defence and offensive spells. Made by my Grandfather all those years ago." He said wistfully. They paid for their wands and left the store.

"Well that was an interesting experience, I don't think I've ever seen a wand explode before." Bathsheda commented as they walked towards Madam Malkins store for Robes. "While you two are getting measured for Robes, I'm going to head off to grab something." She said evasively as they entered the store.

There was someone already there, standing up on a raised area being measured. A Platinum Blonde haired boy stood, he had an air of smugness to him as he was being measured, behind him, looking at other robes that were hanging on racks was an older woman, blonde haired with a look of disdain on her face which marred her otherwise attractive appearance.

"Another for Hogwarts?" The owner of the store, Madam Malkin herself spoke as she saw Harry enter the store.

"We need students robes for him and also a set of robes for my associate here." Bathsheda said before turning to Elizabeth. "I'll be back shortly, hopefully you'll be ready to move on when we're done here." She said and exited the store again.

"Hope up onto the stool dear, I'll be with you in a second." She said as she continued to measure the Blonde boy.

"Starting at Hogwarts are you?" He asked Harry with a tone of arrogance.

"I am." He said after a moment's hesitation. Not a hundred percent sure on how to take the tone of the kid.

"It's my first year as well, it's a shame we're not allowed to take our brooms in for the first year isn't it." He said trying to sound casual, though Harry saw the underlying question. A person from a Non Magical family wouldn't know why that was. Harry had asked about it during their walk around the alley and did know the answer.

"I think it's more of a safety concern more than something to prevent first years from having fun." Harry replied and the kid snorted.

"Of course it's a safety concern, with the increase of the muggleborns coming to Hogwarts, many a tradition has to be changed for them. Have you had any thought as to what house you're going to be sorted in." He asked and Harry shrugged.

"I'm not sure really, I can see benefits to all of them." Harry replied.

"I think I'd die of shame if I was sorted into Hufflepuff, from what I've heard it's a house of rejects that don't fit any of the other houses." He sneered and Harry frowned.

"How do you draw that conclusion?" Elizabeth asked in curiosity.

"Isn't it obvious, the house of 'hard workers' and 'friends.' Look at the traits the other houses show." He commented dismissively. "Though I think I'd prefer Hufflepuff to ending up in Gryffindor." He said mockingly.

"How is being hard working bad? Hard Workers shape and change the world, if I was an employer I'd be more inclined to hire a person who was from Hufflepuff than another house. Hard Workers will get the job done, a network of friends can help in so many ways through their career." Elizabeth pushed and the kid was caught a bit flat footed.

"Draco, be polite." The Woman spoke up as she walked around to where Elizabeth stood. "An interesting view on the houses. I'm curious, what are your views on the other houses?" She asked in curiosity.

"I can see pro's and con's to both from what I've read." Elizabeth spoke cautiously, curious as to who this person was but not willing to sound rude. "Ravenclaw, a house of the intelligent, Intelligence is never a bad thing but too much intelligence and a focus on that over the use of the intelligence can cause a detachment from the world and everything that happens around you." She paused, thinking on things. "With that detachment comes an aloofness that will hinder how you interact with people arrogance and over confidence. But again, Intelligence isn't a bad thing, an aspiration to learn more to know how things work isn't a bad thing and could easily help with research careers and other study careers or teaching." She said and Narcissa smiled at the analysis. "Gryffindor's... I don't think you need me to tell you the downside to Bravery and courage without control and discipline." She said slowly and the woman nodded. "But the willing to do what needs to be done even in the face of their fear. I don't think any law enforcement could work without people like that in place." She explained briefly, "then there's Slytherin, the house of the sneaky and underhanded, Cunning to get their goals regardless of the cost. The reputation of the house alone is a negative trait even though they aren't bad traits to have. Cunning and the ability to plan are good for all sorts of careers in the future and they are good traits to have... In moderation of course. All of these aspects are good in Moderation." She finished and then blushed realising how much she had spoken about something she barely knew anything about except the brief sections she had read last night and first thing this morning. "I apologise, where are my manners, my name is Elizabeth DeWitt." She introduced and the Blonde woman frowned slightly.

"Narcissa Malfoy... Dewitt, I don't think I've ever met someone with that name, are you by any chance Muggleborn?" She asked and Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"I couldn't say to be honest, my parents died a long time ago." A little distortion of the truth but with the way she had been raised, with the isolation in the tower it had essentially been her by herself all those years.

"Your accent though, from the Colonies if I had to guess?" Narcissa asked and after a moment's hesitation, Elizabeth nodded her head. "Interesting, what may I ask brings you to England?" She questioned and Elizabeth looked pensive.

"I've come to study; I was missed by whichever people find magic users to invite them to school. I met one of the Professors for Hogwarts who has offered me a teaching assistant position while I learn what I can." She spoke, a manipulation of the truth. She technically was missed by whoever sent invites to Magic Schools in America but that was due to her being in the Tower in Columbia, the floating city in the sky. But a slight deception that couldn't be tracked was not going to harm her.

"You were raised by Muggles?" Narcissa asked and Elizabeth nodded.

"Kind of, I kept to myself a lot." She finished and Narcissa didn't say anything as she stood thinking about the situation. "Though I'm looking forward to learn what I can, I've only heard great things about Hogwarts so far."

"Hogwarts is one of the best Schools in the Wizarding World." Narcissa admitted though to Elizabeth it sounded like it was a forced admittance. "I do not agree with the actions that the Headmaster has taken in his time running the School but I cannot fault the Subjects and Lessons as a whole." She said and Elizabeth smiled at the statement. "Is it just one subject that you'll be assisting?" She asked.

"I'll be helping across multiple subjects from what I've been told, both to learn what they're teaching and also to help the Teachers with marking the younger year's homework to allow them more focus on the exam years." Elizabeth said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she thought about the situation. The woman, Narcissa Malfoy seemed nice enough but there was something off about the whole conversation. She dismissed the thought, she was being paranoid for no reason.

"You're done my dear." Madam Malkin said standing back up and stepping away to allow Draco to step off the stool.

"Thank you Madam, you continue to do outstanding work." Narcissa complimented as Draco turned back to Harry.

"It has been good talking to you, I assume I'll see you on the Express." Draco finished and Harry nodded, while Narcissa and Elizabeth had spoken, Draco had shifted tone on how he talked, apparently taking the indication from his mother had shifted the tone of the conversation, hearing that Elizabeth was an Orphan he had worked out that Harry must have been one as well, he shared no similarities to the woman who brought them in and they had spoken briefly.

"Yes, it has been good talking to you Elizabeth, with your willingness to learn I would be more than happy to teach you about some of the finer aspects of the Wizarding World." She offered and Elizabeth was caught off guard by the suggestion. "If you need anything, do feel free to send me an Owl and I'll be happy to respond." She said and led Draco out the door after paying for the robes.

"Interesting..." Elizabeth muttered as she watched the two through the window disappear into the crowd. "Very Interesting." She muttered again, folding her arms as she replayed the conversation in her mind.

"What's interesting?" Harry asked, having heard her in the quiet room. "He seemed okay..." Harry trailed off, "a bit opinionated but not that bad."

"The shift in attitude between him before his mother spoke and after she spoke. You can tell a lot about a person and how they were raised by how they act with each parent." She explained, "he was rude and abrupt, with a very high opinion on his beliefs, I have no doubt if his mother wasn't here he would have been a lot more aggressive in protecting his stance. She made him think." Elizabeth told Harry as Madam Malkin finished with measuring Harry.

"On to the stool dear." Madam Malkin ordered gently and Elizabeth stepped up. "The Blacks and Malfoy family have a bit of a reputation." She warned Elizabeth as she started the process of sizing her for robes. "I won't speak ill of a customer but I thought it best to warn you." She said and Elizabeth looked down at her.

"Who are the Blacks?"

"It is Mrs Malfoy's maiden name, they were a very political family back in the day, though time and conflict has worn it down to few members." Malkin told her before returning to work in silence.

"You've learnt a lot about the houses already, how much of that book did you read?" Harry asked her. "I only got a few chapters in while waiting for you to return yesterday but you seem to know a lot about it."

"I got about half way through, I also woke up a lot earlier and continued reading before breakfast." She explained, "it was quite interesting," She said.

"What was interesting?" a familiar voice spoke up and the two looked at the door to see Bathsheda entering, two bird cages in her hands with covers over them.

"The book I was reading yesterday." She explained then gestured to the box. "You've been busy I see." She joked.

"We've got more shopping after your robes are sorted out, I thought I'd jump the gun a bit and take a look at the pet shop. Something just felt right as I got them for you two." She explained, placing the two animal containers on the floor.

"All done," Madam Malkin called out, stepping away from the stool allowing Elizabeth to step down.

"We'll pay for the robes now and can you have them delivered to my house when they're ready?" Bathsheda asked, receiving a nod in response she and Harry stepped up to pay for the respective purchases. they exited the store and made their way back towards the entrance to the Alley. Elizabeth looking once more around the alleyway before they walked back into the Leaky Cauldron. "Tom, can we store our shopping in one of the storage rooms, we need to head into Muggle London for a little bit." Bathsheda asked as they stopped at the bar.

"Of course you can Professor. Just for the afternoon will be 5 sickles." He said opening the door for them to drop off the shopping. Bathsheda paid the charge and then the trio were out in the busy streets of London.

"We only need clothes at the moment, maybe another day we can come back to have more of a look another day." She offered as they moved off to the nearest clothes store. Entering in, Bathsheda almost instantly dragged Elizabeth off, almost knocking the girl off her feet as she was pulled to the women's section and Harry slowly following after them. after they arrived, Bathsheda let go of her arm, gesturing around at the clothes. "Elizabeth, you take a look, find some things you like. I'm going to drag Harry off to the boy's section and get him some clothes." She said and dragged Harry away in the opposite direction leaving her surrounded by clothes in fashions that she had no clue about. she walked around, looking at some of them, avoiding others, her more conservative side shying away from the risqué... almost scandalous clothing.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the store Bathsheda was helping Harry search for clothing, picking out different shirts and trousers, holding them up against him. He was slightly embarrassed by it but didn't really protest. "Professor Babbling?" Harry started questioningly.

"Yes Harry."

"What do you know about the Malfoy Family?" Harry asked in curiosity.

"Not too much, they're an old family, not one of the Oldest but definitely one of the more influential families in this generation. They have a son who will be starting this year. They're a dark family though. the head of the family Lucius was a marked Death Eater back in the day. His trial when he was caught was pretty much all documented but he was cleared of charges with claims that he was Imperioused into doing the crimes." She said, frowning as she thought of how to phrase it. "I won't say avoid at all costs but I will say any dealings that you do with them will be ones you should enter carefully." She finished, handing him the clothes and ushering him to the changing room. "Right, go try those on while I check on Elizabeth. Then wait here after you've tried them on." She said with a sudden seriousness that took Harry a bit by surprise. "Elizabeth needs an entire new wardrobe and that also mean underwear." She said and Harry paled, a silent 'oh' forming as he walked almost robotically into the changing room. Bathsheda chuckled and walked back over to the other side to help Elizabeth with her clothing selection.

The rest of the trip after the conversation was uneventful, they purchased their clothes, returned to the Alley and picked up their shopping from there and caught the Knight Bus back to Bathsheda's house. Bathsheda had kept hold of the animal cages while they travelled and the covers were still in place, both were extremely curious about what they were. She smiled at their questions leading them up to the house at the end of the street that looked well maintained considering she wasn't there for almost the entire year. "I hire a cleaner, they know I'm rarely around but they've done right by me." She said as she fished out the key to the door, pushing it open and walking in. "Let's get all this put away shall we." She called as she turned into a room, the sound of the cages being put on the ground followed by an almost disgruntled hoot. The two followed her in and placed the bag down on the floor at the side of the room. "Now I got these because I know they're going to be useful for you, but like I said I also felt a pull towards them, it's like they knew who I was shopping for." She said pulling off the covers on the cages.

There in front of them sat two owls, a Snowy owl and a Barn owl. Both looked around, disturbed by the sudden light and hooted indignantly. "The snowy owl is for you Harry, the barn owl for you Elizabeth." She explained and the two walked over to the cages, carefully lifting them up to look at them.

"They're beautiful." Elizabeth whispered, the Barn Owl preening under the praise, straightening up to look even more impressive. "What's his name?" She asked and looked up at Bathsheda who shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever you want to name him. They're your pets." She responded. Elizabeth looked between the owl and Bathsheda for a few seconds before setting the cage down and opening the door to allow the owl out.

"I'll think about it for now, I want to make sure you've got the perfect name." She said before focusing back on Bathsheda. "When are we heading to Hogwarts?"

"In a minute, I'll apparate us up to the School, Harry are you going to be okay staying here by yourself for a little bit?" She asked and Harry, whose attention had been focused on the Snowy Owl, snapped out of his thoughts looking over to her and nodding.

"I'll be fine; I'm used to taking care of myself." He said simply before returning his attention to the owl gently stroking her feathers.

"Well then." Bathsheda started, "shall we be on our way then? No time like the present." She said to Elizabeth. "Harry, feel free to help yourself to some food if you're hungry. We're probably going to be gone for the rest of the afternoon. I know in theory I shouldn't leave you by yourself but you seem to have a level head and aren't going to do anything stupid. Don't open the door to strangers, don't go anywhere." She ordered and Harry nodded with a slight roll of his eyes.

"I'll be okay; I plan to just have a look at these books anyway." Harry explained as he copied Elizabeth's actions and opened the door of the cage to allow his Snowy Owl out when she wanted to stretch her wings. Bathsheda and Elizabeth exited the house again, walking into the backyard, a relatively well maintained one though very basic.

"The cleaner I mentioned also does the gardening, she's a godsend, I have the gardening talent of a fire. I don't grow things, I just destroy." Bathsheda joked, chuckling darkly to herself. "We're going to apparate up to the gates of Hogwarts and then walk up from there." She explained holding out her hand for Elizabeth to take. "I know I apparated you before when we woke you up but I thought it best to forewarn you that you're going to feel a squeezing sensation... like being pulled through a straw." She explained quickly, "it may make you feel a bit nauseous but otherwise you'll be fine." Elizabeth took her hand and closed her eyes as she felt herself being squeezed from all sides. a popping sensation around her and they were standing in a new location. She stumbled, feet unsteady. She could feel bile rising in her throat, the urge to throw up almost overwhelming her. Bathsheda grabbed her arm, steadying her. "The first couple of times it's a bit of a nightmare. After a few moments, her breath caught again, she looked up focusing on the gate that stood in front of her and the long pathway up to what she could only assume was Hogwarts. The view of it was impressive. She stared, comparing it to the mental images that she had of fantasy castles from books she had read as a child. "It's not the best way to see the castle." Bathsheda admitted, the gates opening as they started to walk. "The first years get the best view on their arrival. travelling by boat across the lake at night, the castle lit up and illuminating the night. Presentation is a magic all of its own." She said, smiling and walking towards a carriage that stood just on the inside of the gate. Elizabeth followed and gasped.

"What is that?" She asked gesturing to the creature she saw at the front of the cart.

"Hmm?" Bathsheda responded in confusion before looking at the front of the cart. "Oh, wait, you can see them?" She asked and Elizabeth nodded her head, still watching the creatures in fascination. "They're called Thestrals, they're very similar to Horses as you can see, but they also have wings and can travel great distances. We have a small herd in the Forest, a few of which pull the carriages to and from the School." She explained, opening the door to the Carriage and climbing in. Elizabeth tore her gaze away from the leathery skin of the horse like creatures and followed Bathsheda into the carriage.

"What did you mean just now? Why were you so surprised I could see them?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down, pulling the door shut behind her.

"Thestrals are invisible to all but those who have witnessed and truly understood death." She explained, taking a moment to bang on the wall of the carriage starting its journey up the path to the castle. Normally it would just start when it was full but there was only the two of them to board so she sped it along a little bit "I can't see them, but I know they're there because you learn about them in Care of Magical Creatures in fifth year."

"Truly understand death?"

"This is where it gets confusing, Harry probably wouldn't be able to see them at the moment because the only death that he has witnessed would be when he was a baby. If what the rumours say are true then his mother died in front of him, he wouldn't have truly understood what he witnessed at the time." She reasoned but still seemed a bit dubious about it.

"You don't seem so sure about it." Elizabeth said, having picked up on the doubt in her voice.

"There is one thing that you will learn about magic. It has its rules that it seems to stick to and every now and again they just seem to throw the rules straight out of the window. Especially when it comes to powerful Witches and Wizards. Some of the feats that Dumbledore and You-Know-Who performed are almost straight out of a story book." Bathsheda explained. "Battles between those two would change the entire playing field. Dumbledore an expert of Transfiguration could manipulate the battlefield to his advantage, you'd be defending yourself from his spells while also dealing with numerous assaults from creatures that seemingly appear from nowhere. You-Know-Who had raw power and combat magic on his side, he could over power anyone. Rumours also said that he had access to magic not seen since the Founders of Hogwarts." Bathsheda finished and the two fell into silence listening to the sound of the carriage moving along the path.

Elizabeth was eager to get out, to see the castle, to meet the professors that are there. She was also quite interested in what this sorting was. It didn't seem like she had much time to think about it. One day ago she had been woken up and now she was here, going for a job. What experience did she have for a job? She spent the majority of her life in a tower in isolation. She didn't know how to interact with children outside what she had read in books. The more she thought about this, the more she felt her nerves start to build. Would she be good enough? would they turn her away? Would the kids listen to her? She'd only be just over a year older than the oldest year. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, taking a deep breath to calm herself as the carriage halted. "We're here?" She asked Bathsheda.

"We're here, let's go." She replied, pushing open the door and climbing out. Through the door, Elizabeth could see the lake that had been mentioned, reflecting the area around it, something breaking the surface of the water briefly before disappearing, the only trace that it had been there was the gentle ripples of the water. stepping out, she blinked away the initial blindness from the sunlight and turned to look up at the castle, her jaw falling slack as she looked up the walls. From a distance it looked amazing. Up close it was astonishing, from where she stood she couldn't even see the top of the building.

"It's so huge." She said in amazement as she tried to take in every detail straight away. "I can't wait to learn more about it." She said and jumped as someone started chuckling.

"It is an impressive sight isn't it." An old voice spoke and Elizabeth tore her gaze away from the castle, looking at the newcomer to the conversation. He was old, in fact old wouldn't even begin to describe, he looked ancient and yet at the same time still had a lot of life in him. "Welcome to Hogwarts Miss DeWitt." The old man spoke, eyes twinkling as he looked at her a grandfatherly smile on his face.

Elizabeth smiled in response, bowing her head slightly in greeting. "Thank you Sir, If I was to guess, you're Headmaster Dumbledore aren't you?" She asked getting a nod of confirmation. "I wanted to thank you for this opportunity you're giving me, not knowing anything about who I am or where I'm from. Thank you for giving me this chance." She thanked, bowing slightly again.

"Who am I to turn away someone with talent and a want to learn?" Dumbledore questioned, turning and walking into the castle. "Follow me, the other Professors are already here. Many of them are quite curious about you. He said leading her up the stairs in the Entrance Hall, large sweeping stairs leading up into the castle, around her she could see many portraits, the people in the pictures moving to try and see her, she could hear the whispering of them talking about her. _'After all'_ she thought to herself _'How often do they get someone turning up before the School has started?'_ they followed Dumbledore down the Hallway stopping at a simple Oak door. He paused for a moment before pushing it open.

Conversation stopped as the door opened and self-consciously she realised they were focusing on her as she walked in. "Hi." She greeted weakly with a slight wave at the Professors that were there. Reaction was mixed though it was generally positive.

"Allow me to introduce you to your co-workers." Dumbledore started, gesturing slightly to the first one. "The Head of Hufflepuff, Pomona Sprout, she teaches Herbology." He introduced, the woman in question stepping up and shaking her hand in greeting. Her robes were slightly stained with dirt and looked a bit worn, presumably from her subject but the smile she had showed her as a kind person.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I look forward to helping you where I can." She said joyfully. Elizabeth smiled and thanked her, she was someone who definitely had a positive outlook on life and some Elizabeth could easily see herself getting along with.

"The Head of Ravenclaw, Filius Flitwick, he is also our Charms Professor." Albus continued as Sprout stepped back. Elizabeth watched as Flitwick, quite the diminutive man stepped up onto the table that sat in the centre of the room and held his hand out to Elizabeth who shook it without hesitation."

"Pleasure to meet you." She greeted, the two exchanging words briefly with his promise to be available to help her whenever she needed it.

"You have already met my Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall." Albus spoke gesturing to the older woman that she had met the night before. The two nodded to each other, "she teaches Transfiguration, a lesson that I will admit I do hold close to my heart having held the position before I became Headmaster." He explained before Elizabeth turned to the last person. "And last, but by no means least, Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin and Potions master. There are few in the world better at the subtle science of potion making as Severus." Dumbledore introduced and the two stared at each other. Snape looked bored to be here and not at all interested in meeting Elizabeth but still he was here. He nodded his head in greeting as well, Elizabeth returning the gesture after a few short moments. Some people just didn't want to talk. She was fine with that. She could deal with people like that. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, I believe it would be best to get your sorting out the way." He held out his arm and for a moment Elizabeth thought he was going to sort her through some kind of spell.

A ball of flame flared up in front of him.

Elizabeth jumped back, resisting a scream that threatened to escape her lips as a Red bird appeared from the flames. It focused on her, staring intently and for a moment she felt like it was staring directly into her soul. It turned its head singing a few notes that sent a shiver up Elizabeth's spine. It was so relaxing to hear it, it filled her with warmth. She closed her eyes focusing on the song, trying to capture its essence but already it had started to fade. She opened her eyes, resting on Dumbledore's arm was the bird in question and now in Dumbledore's hand there was a battered and tatty looking Hat. She was confused, was this some kind of joke they were planning to play on her.

"Headmaster, you know it's too early for the Sorting Ceremony, I was sleeping." A new voice sounded and Elizabeth looked around in confusion. "Is this the person I'm to sort? She looks a bit old to be a first year." it spoke again and Elizabeth realised that the sound was actually coming from the hat that he held.

"The Sorting Hat, created by the founders, a piece of each of their wisdom to sort students for over one thousand years." Dumbledore explained as the bird took to the air and disappeared in another ball of flames. "Now then, shall we begin?" He asked, withdrawing his wand and creating a stool out of thin air. "Take a seat and we'll begin." he said gesturing calmly to the stool. Elizabeth again looked dubious but she complied, stepping over to the seat, in the silence of the room realising just how loud the heels on her boot clicked against the stone floor of the castle. _'At least people will know I'm about.'_ She chuckled to herself before turning and sitting on the stool, the hat slowly being lowered on to her head.

 _"Well this is interesting.'_ The voice sounded, echoing inside of her head.

 _'You're in my head?'_ She questioned, already knowing the answer before it could respond.

 _'I never thought I'd be called to sort an older student such as yourself, a very interesting mind. A very unique set of mental shields as well.'_ It commented and she could feel something digging around in her head. _'You have nothing to fear from me my dear, I am sworn to secrecy in all that I find inside of a student's head.'_ It explained and Elizabeth let out a small sigh of relief, she had been told to keep the information in her head a secret and it wouldn't have worked if the hat could speak to anyone after reading a person's mind. _'Though you may want to look at altering them as well, you've done a great job of keeping them in... but not at keeping people out. You've created less of a wall and more of a window.'_ It continued and Elizabeth frowned.

 _'You mean to tell me there are people who will actively read my mind?'_ She sent back, glancing around at the other professors in the room. A chuckling from the hat drew her attention back to the mental conversation.

 _'You have nothing to fear from them my dear, they are trustworthy. But this is not what I was brought here to do. To sort you I am made for and sort you I will. You're brave, there is no questioning that. Noble, there's that with more to spare. Your time in Columbia has shaped your wits about you, the ability to think fast and act just as quickly would do well in Gryffindor. You're a fast learner, the number of books you've read during your time in the Tower and your ability to solve puzzles, you'd easily fit well with Ravenclaw, your analytical mind would prove very beneficial with both the job you are taking and your studies here. Loyalty, that there is no question, let's just use the example from last night. He saves you and you save him, very interesting, Hufflepuff would gladly accept you with that shining example.'_ It paused before moving on to the end and Elizabeth knew what he was going to bring up, the same thing that she would have brought up when talking about the last house. The part of her she tried to distance herself from. The part she had ran away from. _'Rapture...'_ The voice spoke and the colour drained from her face. _'What an interesting concept, a city under the city. A muggle made Atlantis. A myriad of deceits against the Booker that you met.'_

She snapped back angrily, cutting him off before he could start. _'He was NOT Booker! He was a charlatan, hiding from his own guilt and his own negligence.'_

 _'Oh but he was Booker wasn't he, from a certain point of view. Constants and Variables I believe you were told, he is but he isn't. But his actions don't matter, yours do. You manipulated him to find out the truth. Whether or not he had truly changed, whether or not he was truly after forgiveness for his actions of just as obsessed with what he could have done if he had taken you when you were a baby... the other you. How do you keep yourself focused sometimes?'_ The hat asked in amazement, he had sorted thousands of students in his years of existence, none of them had any inclining or confusion brought about by the sheer chaos that was going on inside their head. It was amazed that Elizabeth hadn't gone insane years ago from being able to perceive all of this. Though it did explain the strong barriers. _'You would do well in any house, each could lead you to greatness and skills unparalleled. But you've never wanted that, you've always wanted to be just Elizabeth... or is it Anna? Either way there is only one place that you would truly feel at home and that is...'_ It trailed off in her head and Elizabeth was confused before the hat spoke aloud to the rest of the room. "RAVENCLAW."

There was polite applause from the house heads and looking around she saw that even Snape was slowly clapping; from the initial abruptness she didn't think that he would have even done that. She pushed the thoughts away, she couldn't judge him until she had the time to speak to him properly. "Wonderful, wonderful. Filius I do believe you have gained an excellent addition to your house." Dumbledore spoke happily as the man nodded his head. Elizabeth smiled soaking in the applause while it lasted, feeling comfortable about her surroundings. She was looking forward to spending her time here. She shook hands with Flitwick and the others that came up to congratulate her on her sorting and also, half-heartedly offer their commiserations at not having her in their house before the group started talking, trying to learn more about her and plans for the future, all minus Snape who excused himself to return to his duties, a few potions were reaching near volatile stages and he needed to oversee them to make sure they didn't spoil and undo months of work.

Yes, she was going to like it here.

In a different part of the country, a grand manor sat by itself, isolated away from everyone, just like it's original creators wanted it all those years ago and just like the current head of house wanted for it now. He himself sat in his study, thinking about the coming year. His son was about to start at Hogwarts to carry on the legacy of his family. He was proud of his son he had grown well and was going to be a bringer of change. He looked down at the letter he had received earlier today, a meeting with the Minister, it was either him or Dumbledore that the Minister turned to. Thankfully in recent years it had shifted more to him than the aged Headmaster.

A couple of coins in the right place and the Minister found himself more and more inclined to listen to him.

A soft knock on the door.

"Enter." He called after a moment, folding the letter shut. The door opened and he smiled slightly as his wife entered. "Narcissa. Did the shopping trip go without event?" He asked and saw the careful smirk on her face.

"Lucius, we need to talk."

TBC

Oh wow a cliff hanger, got to love them. This is officially my longest chapter written ever, 11982 words for this one chapter. I was toying with having another scene in here but it didn't fit right with what I wanted so it's been pushed back.


	4. Chapter 4: Sorting out the Train Ride

**Chapter 4: Sorting out the Train Ride.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Bioshock Infinite, they both belong to their respective owners._

"What do you want to talk about my dear?" He asked placing the letter in the draw of his desk. It was nothing of concern to Narcissa and it was more of a gesture to show that he had her attention.

"I met someone quite interesting while Draco and I were getting his robes for the coming year." She said as she walked over, her hand resting on the back of the chair that sat on the opposite side of the desk to Lucius.

"And what person could possibly catch your eye?" Lucius asked, Narcissa's expression shifted from one of a smirk to a smile. It was strange to see her smile like that, only in the guaranteed privacy that she would seemingly drop the cold exterior, the Black family persona that she showed to the rest of the world.

"Two people actually." She corrected after a moment's thought, sitting down on the chair, "one of which you were expecting to be turning up at some point." She continued elusively and he smirked, there was only one person of importance that would be appearing around this time.

"The Potter boy." Lucius guessed and Narcissa nodded.

"He did look worse for wears when I saw him, so pale and malnourished. His parents must be rolling in their graves with how he must have been treated." Narcissa said, part of her felt a slight pang of guilt about it. She was Black, Harry had Black blood in his veins through his father's side of the family. But the Potters had chosen their side, to side with the lesser blood, Muggleborns and Half-blood's that sought to destroy customs that had long held together the Wizarding World.

"How did he and Draco interact?"

"He seemed quite unsure of himself, non-committal answers as Draco started talking, he really does need to learn a bit more tact Lucius, you cannot expect to make allies and connections in the school if you insult everything outside of your world view, regardless of your opinion on it. It's an almost... Gryffindor attitude." She teased lightly and Lucius resisted the urge to roll his eyes, it would be unbecoming for a Head of Family to roll his eyes like a child.

"I will have words about his... tact, later. Did you manage to stop him before he completely alienated the boy?" Lucius asked. It was a gambit that they were trying. Draco was to make friends with the Boy Who Lived, not only would it possibly allow him to manipulate control of the child through the legal system. But if Draco offended the boy and shot any chance of friendship in the foot then that plan would go in the bin faster than the House Elves could clean the house.

"I was about to, but I was beaten, in an interesting way by the other person I mentioned." Narcissa spoke, lifting a hand and checking her nails. She frowned, her nail was marked, she dismissed it, lowering her hand again.

"A teacher was escorting him?" Lucius asked in curiosity. He had expected something like that, most probably one who held the same ideals that Dumbledore held, the 'light' side with complete hatred of the dark side. "The games keeper I don't doubt was the one." He sneered, Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds for Hogwarts was someone he'd like to see removed from Hogwarts permanently. The man was a freak of nature in the eyes of Lucius.

"If there was, they didn't turn up until after I left, not the person I met was a new employee of the school." She said and Lucius frowned before nodding his head.

"I'd been informed about it. Dumbledore hiring an assistant to help with subjects, grade the children's paper work to allow the professors to work on their higher years." Lucius commented. It wasn't a bad idea, he wasn't against it because it would help his son in the future, the cost was negligible for the school and one assistant for the year wasn't that much of a problem. Depending on where their alignment rested. "What did they have to say?" He asked curiously. A new face presented new variables to any plan he had regarding the school to get Dumbledore out in the future.

"Draco was insulting Hufflepuff house and she pointed out to him the strengths of the house. Connections with others that would help in pursuing careers, a network of friends that would cover and stand up for you in times of troubles." She explained and Lucius made a small gesture for her to go on. "It was at this point that I stepped in, reminding Draco of his manners and speaking to her, curious about her ideas on the Houses in general," Narcissa paused as a cup of tea appeared on the table in front of her. The Elves were sometimes a godsend with the way they were able to nearly instantly predict what was going to happen. But with the way Lucius treated them sometimes, they had a choice, be quick or be punished.

They chose to be quick.

She took a sip of the tea, thinking on how to phrase the next part as Lucius waited calmly, "She was more than happy to talk about her views, she went through all four houses and gave both their upsides and downsides. She didn't seem to show bias towards any in particular." She explained, placing the tea cup back onto the saucer with a slight clink of china as it connected. "But it seems she's not just there to be an assistant to the Professors. She's an Orphan who was missed by the system. An American Orphan that was missed." She added and Lucius sneered.

"An American? We're letting colonials into the school now? I knew I should have fought against the idea." He said with disgust lacing his voice but Narcissa waved him off.

"You jump without knowing husband. Yes, it is a shame that the School has sunk so low as to allow Colonials, uneducated Colonials in to the school to learn magic long after they should have finished but there was something about her that caught my attention." Narcissa said thoughtfully, "We know her name now, Elizabeth DeWitt. We know she's from America and we can find out more about her this way but there was something else. I used Legilimency on her." She finished and Lucius's eyes widened in surprise.

"You did what!?" He asked in shock. The use of Legilimency on another person was a serious crime, if she had been caught doing it then there could have been trouble for them. Yes, money could have fixed it but not without spending quite a lot.

"It was a risk, a gentle probe that didn't touch any barriers. Her natural ones were easy to bypass but there was another one... a strange one that wasn't designed to keep people out." She commented, confused by what she had witnessed. "It was a barrier designed to keep something in, without focusing on it more I couldn't tell but from what I could see, I think she may be a legitimate seer." Narcissa reasoned. "And not a fraud like Trelawney, but one that can see all that happens, that could happen, that could have happened." Narcissa explained as she thought about the things that she had seen.

"A real seer?" Lucius asked, his hands clasping together, leaning forward slightly on the desk as he looked intently at Narcissa. "Are you certain?"

"It's the only logical conclusion that I can draw. through the barrier I could see different scenarios play out quickly, they overlapped and changed quickly, but they were of Madam Malkin's store and they repeatedly changed with what happened. In one I saw Draco there with you at his side. Another, the Potter boy with the groundskeeper, on and on it changed, little differences, big differences. There were so many that I had to pull back for fear of being over whelmed by what I saw, the fact that she has them locked away makes me believe that she could be aware of it." Narcissa finished and Lucius leant forwards resting his chin on his thumbs as he thought about the possibilities of this.

"She could be dangerous." He said cautiously.

"She could be a valuable asset." She responded, her smile returning to a smirk. "Besides, I have already open the door for her to associate with her." Narcissa added calmly, almost as an afterthought. "New to the world, not understanding any of the culture, not understanding any of the magic that she is about to witness and acting as an Assistant to the school. It's a lot to work through, I have offered my assistance is she has any questions regarding anything that she is unsure about. She's at an age older than the students, a lot younger than the teachers, a sympathetic ear that is willing to listen will be a valuable thing for her." Narcissa explained and the smile was returning to Lucius's face.

"I think I may have an idea on how to go with this." Lucius said thoughts of what was to come already playing out in his head.

Two weeks had passed since her initial sorting and she had barely stopped working during that time. Elizabeth sat in the garden, a small stack of books on the table as she read through the first year school books. she had drifted away from the main spell casting spells and found herself more drawn to the Potions text. Something about the subtle science was fascinating, the interactions of certain ingredients if added in certain orders or added after certain actions had been taken. It was a puzzle that was drawing all her attention.

Harry had also been focused on the books, though he found himself leaning more towards defensive spells and magic, the subject had grabbed his attention and when Elizabeth had asked him about it he had just responded that he didn't want to see anyone else suffer where he could avoid it. She felt torn about that, on one aspect it was good that he was willing to fight injustice but at the same time, it wasn't right that an Eleven-year-old was already thinking like that.

A week into the stay and Elizabeth had asked him if he had seen anymore rifts, to see whether or not the power that he had absorbed had faded away but it was still there. He had seen several tears. It had manifested the same way that her powers had, when she had used the power before it had allowed her to access anything or anywhere, but then before she had been rescued from the Tower, her powers had been drained by a device that she was still unsure how it worked. It siphoned her powers off and forced her to rely more on the tears that formed in the world. Parts of reality that were thinner, the barrier between one dimension and the next at a point where something could be pulled through or something could be seen through it. Now though, thanks to the device being destroyed she had the full powers back, the ability to go where she wanted, when she wanted. There was so many things available to her but for now she was content.

The challenge had been laid in front of her, to help the School, to help Harry. She wanted to see how she could do with it.

"Enjoying the sun while it lasts?" Bathsheda asked, she had returned from a trip up to Hogsmeade, the village that sat next to Hogwarts, it was the only village left in the United Kingdom that had an entire Wizard and Witch population from what she had been told and it was one of the few places that they could truly be themselves. She had skipped out on the trip when invited though, more focused on getting her notes sorted, next to her books sat a notepad that had numerous scribbles and notes written in it along with more than a few doodles she had idly drawn when she had started reading.

"While it lasts?" She asked.

"England isn't exactly known for its good weather. Give it a few days and we'll probably end up having enough rain to make a swimming pool out here." Bathsheda joked, sitting in another chair at the table.

"It's nice, to sit and relax, to not have anything to worry about." She explained, sliding a book mark into the book and closing it. "I've been meaning to ask you, how is it that you communicate with other magical people?" She asked leaning back slightly into the chair and looking up into the sky, watching as several birds flew overhead.

"We have a couple of ways, if you and the person are connected to the Floo Network then you can use that to have a conversation. Looks weird though, on your end you've got your head in the fireplace and on the other end you've got the person talking to a fireplace." She started and Elizabeth giggled slightly at the mental image. "Next for the slightly more important messages that don't really need a reply you can send a Patronus... but not many people do that for the simple fact a Patronus is so hard to cast in the first place. To send messages with it is generally done only by the Aurors or powerful wizards." She continued, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But the most common way is the one you're probably wanting to know about, we use owls, they're some of the smartest creatures and really useful. Unless a person really doesn't want to be found, the owls will be able to find them."

"That would explain the Owls that you got myself and Harry." Elizabeth realised before pulling a page free from the notepad that she had been writing on, grateful for the perforations that were in it so it didn't look all torn and ragged. "Thank you for that." She said, resting the paper on the notepad and quickly picking up her pen.

"Don't tell me you've already found someone special to write to... I only left you alone for a little bit in Diagon Alley and you haven't been anywhere else." Bathsheda teased and Elizabeth rolled her eyes, cheeks going slightly pink at the implication.

"No, no... nothing like that. I just need to ask someone a question is all." She said, slightly dismissively but Bathsheda nodded her head.

"This would be Mrs Malfoy wouldn't it?" Bathsheda asked, already knowing the answer having spoken to Harry in the clothes shop after that event. Personally she didn't care much for the Malfoy's but that was because they didn't care too much for what she was. A Muggle Born who had successfully made it in the Wizarding World to become a teacher at the most respected School at such a young age in comparison to the others, the only other Professor that could match her was Professor Snape but even he had a few more years on her. "Is it an answer I can give you at all?"

"This one, I'm afraid not, it's not so much an answer to a question but an opinion on a question." Elizabeth responded vaguely as she continued writing the letter.

"Just remember, the Malfoy family is dark Elizabeth, they've got a reputation and many fear them for what they're willing to do. Narcissa is also a Black, one of the oldest and darkest Wizarding Families to ever live in this country and have performed actions that would put the Malfoy's to shame." Bathsheda continued cautiously. She wasn't trying to make Elizabeth stop all contact considering Narcissa had given the information, she just wanted to make sure Elizabeth was aware of what the association with the group would bring.

"I understand the risk. Don't worry this is something that I need to ask them. To understand about how they think." Elizabeth replied and glanced at Harry. "Everyone has plans for Harry over there. I've seen it, I can't see what those plans are but I know that he is the centre point for all of this. Everything changes with how he acts." She said quietly, making sure he didn't hear her from the place he was sitting further down in the garden, resting against a tree as he flicked through the book. "I've said I'd look out for him and the only way I'm going to be able to do anything like that is if I know the people involved. You say they're the most influential people on the 'dark' side of the spectrum then they're someone I'm going to want to pay attention to." Elizabeth countered. "Besides, the question I have to ask is one that should make her think. Maybe it'll make her question things that others wouldn't, if she's as smart as you seem to imply." Elizabeth finished, returning her attention to the letter, a look of deep thought coming to her face as she worked to put the letter she had in her head into writing.

Harry turned a page in his book, glancing at the duo that sat at the table, his thoughts on the last couple of weeks. To him they had probably been the best that he had ever had. He wasn't being shouted at for nothing, he wasn't being forced to do all the chores in the house and he was able to pretty much relax and just get on with whatever he wanted to do... which at the moment largely left reading of his new books. Everything was pulling him to focus on things. He tried to get into Transfiguration to follow what his father had done but a lot of it went a bit over his head. he understood that a lot of it required mental accuracy and the ability to picture the transformation in his mind as he cast the spell but at the same time some of the spells just seemed weird. Why would he need to turn a beetle into a button? Charms was another subject that he looked into, intrigued by what his mother had learnt but the book was so vague in its context, it covered so many aspects, just loosely touching on them with a handful of spells and a list of other books to get to follow up on anything specific. It's what eventually led to him focusing on the Defence against the Dark Arts book. It was detailed, spells along with what they were designed to be used against, the majority being basic magical creatures, ones that were a little bit of an annoyance but not much more. Still it was focused and he was fascinated by it all. He had spoken to Elizabeth for a bit about the potions books and he couldn't help but smile slightly as he remembered her talking passionately about it. She was extremely looking forward to the class.

He glanced away as Elizabeth looked up at him, turning his head back to the book. It would be rude to be caught staring and he didn't want to offend her. She had done a lot for him.

He hoped he was in the same house when he gets sorted. She was a lot of fun to talk to. Absently, he turned another page of his book, not long now until he went to Hogwarts and begun to see what the Wizarding World truly had in store for him.

Narcissa was in her private room, brushing her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. The plans that Lucius had come up with where interesting to say the least. He did have intelligence in that head of his. She lowered the brush and placed it on the side, reaching and picking up the letter that Elizabeth had sent her two days ago. It was something to think about, an attitude that was rarely taken by anyone nowadays. A simple question to understand instead of going off of pre conceived notions that so many people in the Wizarding World tried to follow.

 _Dear Mrs Malfoy,  
Thank you again for agreeing to answer any questions that I have in regards to the Wizarding World and its culture. I've had a couple of people tell me things about it already but at the same time I feel that it isn't enough to just listen to one side of the situation. I have had opinions on this from a Witch of Non Magical parentage and I was curious as to what the opinion of someone who is Pureblood would be in regards to this._

What is causing the divide between the blood? In your opinion what is causing it?

Narcissa paused as she lowered the letter again thinking about this. What was the cause of the divide? Was it truly that their legacy, their bloodline made them better. It was a question that had already been at the back of her mind for all these years. Every year the shift in the grades seemed to be taking a step more towards Muggleborns and Half-blood's taking the top positions. The Purebloods were still highly ranked but that they were being beaten was the focus point. Research was being done but largely hindered. Some believed it was because of the inbreeding, that they were literally breeding the magic out of their children by the close blood ties that the families had formed over the years, others believed it was because they were so steeped in tradition, that habits repeated were signs of stagnation and a lack of flexibility or change which allowed the Muggleborns to get ahead because they did not have that resting on them, they were essentially a clean slate, she lifted the letter back up and continued to read.

 _If there is a problem, which I am not saying there isn't either way, what is the potential cure for the problem? Is it due to a lack of understanding of tradition? a bull headed approach to their entrance into the world? Or is it the other way around? Is it due to stubbornness from the Pureblood families that prevent them from adapting to new ideas that come into the world?_

I do not write this to try and push my ideas onto you but to try and find out what can be done to mend a wound that even through my limited exposure to the world can tell there is something wrong.

Again, thank you for the talk we had in Madam Malkin's the other day, it was nice to meet new people, I look forward to writing to you in the future and I look forward to speaking with your son when he starts at Hogwarts.

Sincerely  
Elizabeth DeWitt.

Narcissa put the letter back down, returning to look at herself in the mirror. It was a letter that would take time to respond to, she had to think carefully on how she phrased things and how she would try and show that the Purebloods weren't as evil as many tried to make them out to be.

Smiling, she picked up her brush again, returning to the task at hand with a small smile. It was an interesting game that she was playing, idly she wondered where it would lead.

September first soon rolled around and the three were at Kings Cross Station, gear loaded up onto trolleys, Harry, Elizabeth and Bathsheda walking through the busy train station people were giving them odd looks every now and again, but that was to be predicted when they were moving through with two owl cages and two large old fashioned trunks instead of ordinary suitcases or bags. Still, the people of London had seen weirder things through the years. they arrived at an area between Platforms nine and ten, the two that would be travelling by train were looking around confused as to where the platform nine and three quarters would be located.

After all, you didn't expect a magical location to be in plain sight did you? "It's hidden behind the barrier just there." Bathsheda said pointing towards a brick barrier. "Just take a walk and pass straight through, if you're feeling a bit nervous, take it at a bit of a run, but not enough to draw attention. Don't want the muggles to see." She explained, lowering her hand and looking around to see if anyone was paying attention. "Okay Harry, you go through first." She ordered and he moved forwards, hesitantly at first but quickly picked up the pace, disappearing through the wall without a trace that he had ever been there before. "You follow through and I'll meet you at Hogwarts, I've got a few things I need to go sort out so I won't be going through with you."

"Thanks for everything, we'll see you at Hogwarts." Elizabeth thanked before moving towards the barrier. Her breath caught in her throat as she got closer, her brain screaming at her to stop because she'd crash and injure herself. But she pushed herself forwards, closing her eyes just as she would hit the barrier. and found no resistance to it whatsoever. Cautiously she opened her eyes, half expecting to wake up in bed as if it had been a dream but instead she found herself standing on a platform, a bright red steam train waiting on the tracks for the students who were running around eagerly, older ones looking for friends they hadn't seen during the summer holidays, younger ones, having eagerly waited to get their letter giddy with anticipation as they said goodbye to their parents. Looking around she saw Harry at one of the cargo carriages, that would hold their trunks and animal containers. She pushed her trolley over and moved to give him a hand lifting the heavy box on to the train before moving on to hers. "Ready for this Harry?" She asked and he nodded. She noticed many people looking in her direction, older students who were confused as to who she was, adults who had never seen her before and were trying to work out who she was as well. It just went to show there weren't many new faces outside of the young children and the people of the Wizarding World knew pretty much everyone else. All one big happy family. Harry had also noticed the stares that she was getting and gestured for her to leave the trolley.

"I'll get rid of that," He said the two trolleys sliding together. "See if you can find anywhere for us to sit." He stated the suggestion, less of a question but she smiled none the less.

"Keeping an eye on me already Mr Potter?" She teased and he smiled at her.

"You looked after me, I think I should do the same." He responded just as seriously and then walked off with the trolleys.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly as she climbed onto the train. They had spoken a lot over the last few weeks, covering both the topics the school had and the fact that he could see the rifts. Just like she had done with Bathsheda, she had made Harry promise not to start to toying with the rifts and to keep them under wraps around other people. She explained that if she was right then the power should have started fading away. But they hadn't they had gotten stronger, he was able to find the tears more easily than before, thankfully he hadn't opened any but there was still a chance. Still he had promised and she trusted him to keep his word. Walking down the corridor of the train, she narrowly avoided being run over by several of the younger years as they dashed down the train to look for her friends, glancing in the rooms as she walked she saw many of them were already filling up quickly but thankfully one nearer to the back was empty. She slid the door open, walking in and closing it behind her, sitting on the seat and flicking open the book she had with her, having switched back to focusing on Transfiguration for the last little preparation time. She had already been given her timetable and was going to be in the first Transfiguration Class of the year, a mixed class of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw so she wanted to make sure she knew what she was going to be helping them with.

The door slid open, she glanced up and smiled at Harry as he entered in. "I'm surprised you managed to find an empty space, there's so many people here." Harry commented dropping into the seat opposite her.

"Anyone notice who you were?" She asked curiously. They knew everyone was going to pay him attention due to the fact that he was the Boy-Who-Lived but he was taking the chance to keep a low profile while it lasted.

Shaking his head, Harry smiled slightly. "I'm safe for now. There were a pair of red heads that saw me but I don't think they clicked as to who I was." Harry joked and Elizabeth nodded her head, turning her attention back to the book. "Haven't you memorised that by now?" He asked her. She had shown him the schedule and he knew this was the first class she was going to be with but she had pretty much had her nose buried in the book for the past few days. He turned his attention to the window looking out at the crowd of people watching them say good bye to their parents, watching them board the train, watching the people who had arrived late rushing desperately to get their kids on the train in time.

"I may have memorised what I need to know but you can never be too sure on something. I don't want to make too much of a fool of myself." She replied with a laugh, a piercing whistle echoing in the station. "Looks like we'll be off in a second. Still excited?" She asked already knowing the answer and the grin was a blatant indication as to whether or not he was looking forward to it.

The whistle was sounded again and they shifted, the train starting its slow movement to get out of the station and begin its journey. Harry watched through the window, the station rolling out of view behind them before leaning back into his seat, finally on his way to Hogwarts. finally allowed to practice Magic. Elizabeth had done a few spells but Harry hadn't, Bathsheda had been quite strict on that, the Underage Magic laws probably wouldn't have picked it up because he had yet to start Hogwarts but she was pretty strict on the ruling.

The door slid open again. Both looked up, Elizabeth from her book and Harry pulled from his own thoughts as a red headed boy stood in the doorway, freckled and with a smudge of dirt on his nose. He looked nervous to be talking as he looked between the two. "Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." He asked, explaining why to the two. Elizabeth looked to Harry and shrugged. He smiled and nodded to the boy.

"Sure, have a seat." Harry said and the boy moved in, closing the door behind him as he sat down next to Harry.

"Thank you." He muttered nervously before speaking up, finding some courage to talk, remembering his manners. "I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley." He introduced and another silent communication happened between the two for a split second.

"I'm Elizabeth, Elizabeth DeWitt." She introduced before gesturing to Harry. "He is Harry Potter." she said, knowing full well that the comment would draw a reaction from the kid who gasped at the revelation.

"Are you really?" He asked in suspicion. "Do you really have the... the... the scar?" He asked, stuttering nervously glancing at Harry as both he and Elizabeth rolled their eyes. The boy had no tact. Harry agreed at this point to show it though and brushed his fringe away to show the lightning bolt scar. "Wow..." He muttered and Harry lowered his fringe and went back to looking out the window a slight uneasiness settling in the room. Ron, realising that he had done something to unsettle the tone tried to find a topic to shift to looking at Elizabeth, seeing her reading a first year book. "You're reading a first year book?" He asked bluntly, "you don't look like a first year."

"You're not really one for subtlety in your questions are you?" She teased lightly and he blushed in embarrassment. "I'm a teaching assistant, I'm going to be helping the staff with the early year's classes." She explained, lifting the book with one hand cupping the spine and closing the book, a thud echoing in the compartment. Ron flinched at the noise, not expecting to have run into a teacher this early in the year, before he had even reached the castle. "Out of curiosity Ron, do you have any family?" She asked, shifting the topic. Harry had mentioned red headed children and she was curious if they were also Weasleys.

"I have five brothers and one sister." He responded, "I'm the youngest of the brothers." He muttered glumly and Elizabeth frowned slightly at that. So many siblings that were older than him, he'd want to try and find some way to stand out in comparison to them.

"Any of them still in the school?" She questioned and Ron nodded.

"Three of them, Fred, George and Percy. My sister is still too young to come." He explained and started to talk about his older brothers that had left Hogwarts already.

A few hours passed, a few people sticking their heads in for a second looking for others, many of them lingering their attention on either Elizabeth or Harry a bit longer than either of them would have liked

"Anything off the trolley dears?" The voice of the elderly Trolley Witch spoke as she looked into the room.

"I'm okay... my mum made me some sandwiches." Ron said glumly, withdrawing a set of wrapped up sandwiches from his pocket, looking slightly worse for wear with how they were transported.

Harry saw the look on Ron's face and could read the situation well. It was the same feeling he had when he was at the Dursley's, the knowledge that other people could get things that he couldn't. He turned his attention to the witch and looking at the stuff, not recognising everything before nodding his head. "We'll take some of everything." He said, fishing in his pocket for some coins.

With the trolley now a lot lighter, they sat with the sweets sat on the seat next to Elizabeth, the trio picking through them out of curiosity, the sandwiches lying forgotten on the bench next to Ron. "Chocolate Frog?" Harry asked looking at the shaped box, he could feel it rattling slightly as something moved inside. "It's not a real frog is it?" He asked with a sideways glance to Ron.

"No, it's just chocolate animated to move around." He explained. "Though I'm still looking for Agrippa." He added as an afterthought.

"You're looking for what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Agrippa, each of the Chocolate Frog packs have a card in them of a Famous Witch or Wizard." Ron explained as Harry opened the pack. The frog trying to jump away, jumping in the direction of Elizabeth. But Harry was quicker, his hand snatching out and gripping the frog. Ron blinked in surprise at the reaction speed. "Woah... with moves that quick, maybe you should try for the house team." Ron suggested before realising that he probably didn't know what Ron was talking about. "Quidditch I mean." Ron added.

"First years can't," Harry said in slight disappointment, what he had read about it sounded really interesting, he couldn't wait to see a game in person though, the photos in the book had barely shown anything. He also had the other major problem of not owning a broom to play the game. Though he could probably solve that problem with the funds he had in his vault. For now, he was willing to wait.

Once again the door slid open, the trio looked at the figure standing there, a girl with bushy brown hair stuck her head into the room. "Has anybody here seen a toad?" She asked, "a boy named Neville has lost one."

"I'm afraid there's been no sign of a toad here." Elizabeth commented.

"Though I wouldn't blame him for trying to lose it. I'd try to as well if I had a toad." Ron muttered and everyone looked at him in surprise. "Though I can't talk..." He muttered again his cheeks turning pink with the attention that he was receiving as he fished a rat out of his pocket. "I have Scabbers here." He explained the fat, old rat looking like it had seen better days, patches of fur missing, a claw missing on one paw. Looking at the rat Elizabeth felt a sharp stabbing pain in the forefront of her mind causing her to wince in pain, a headache starting to form. she gasped slightly, rubbing her forehead and the group were distracted by the rat turning back to look at her.

"Are you okay?"

I'm okay, just a bit of a headache. Maybe I've been reading a bit too much." She said jokingly with a glance at Harry.

"I'm Hermione Granger and you are?" The girl in the doorway asked looking at the others.

"That's Ron Weasley, I'm Elizabeth DeWitt and that's Harry Potter." Elizabeth said as she fished out a bottle of water, twisting the lid off of it. She didn't mean to hijack the introductions but the way the girl had spoken to introduce herself just rubbed her the wrong way. It was so abrupt and rude.

"Harry Potter!?" She said in amazement, "I've read all about you."

"I'm in books?" Harry asked in shock.

"Several books, they say all about how you defeated the Dark Lord." She responded quickly.

"Oh that's going to be interesting. How do they say he defeated the Dark Lord?" Elizabeth asked before Harry or Ron could say anything. Hermione went to speak back, caught off guard by the answer before frowning slightly.

"They... didn't clearly say anything. They were in fact incredibly vague about it." She said in annoyance, the idea of the book not knowing almost tantamount to blasphemy with her.

"Because no one actually knows." Harry spoke up quietly. "There is only one person alive who was there that night." Harry said pointedly looking at the bushy haired girl who had the decency to blush and look apologetic.

"I better get on... with helping Neville find his toad." She said hesitantly and quickly left, the door sliding shut as she left.

"Mental that one..." Ron spoke with a roll of his eyes. "I hope I'm not sorted into her house." He added quickly as he turned to look at the other two for confirmation in his thoughts.

"That seems a bit unfair, she's just new to the world, Muggleborn if I had to guess." Elizabeth said with a frown, she had done the exact same thing that Elizabeth had done, dug into books to find information about the world but whereas Elizabeth had experience with the world itself. As much as running gun fights and chaos in a city in the air and a city under the water constituted experience with the world, she still had interaction with people. The girl was still young enough to have everything dictated to her by books. "She'll grow and adapt and make an impact as time passes. Just like you will I'm sure." Elizabeth said with a smile, Ron blushing at the comment.

Once more the door slid open and in walked someone that two of them knew, if not that well from a previous meeting.

"Word along the carriage is that Harry Potter is in this room." The boy started with an air of superiority but quickly shifted it into the background as he saw Elizabeth and Harry sitting in the compartment. "Ah, where are my manners." He spoke, stepping into the compartment and gently lifting Elizabeth's hand, placing a chaste kiss on her fingers. "It's a pleasure to see you again Miss DeWitt." Draco said politely before turning to look at Harry. "And I don't believe I introduced myself to you properly the last time we met. I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." He greeted, holding out his hand to Harry. Ron snorted, dismissive of the name of the family, Harry couldn't help but chuckle slightly as his mind flashed back to the night before where he, Elizabeth and Bathsheda had watched a James Bond film. Draco's introduction just reminded him so much of the character. Draco though, didn't take kindly to Ron's attitude. "I don't need to ask your name, Red hair and hand me down robes, you must be a Weasley." Draco snapped, lowering his hand, wheeling on the red head. Harry stood up instantly, angling himself to stop any potential fight from breaking out.

"Look Draco, I'm sorry for laughing, it wasn't at your name. I was watching a film with a character that introduced himself the exact same way." Harry said, and held out his hand. There was a brief look of confusion on Draco's face that vanished after a moment, realising it was probably a muggle thing and he didn't really care about it either way.

Draco smirked at Ron before looking back at Harry. "You'll find some Wizarding families are better than others, I can show you Harry." He said and went to shake his hand but Harry moved back, lowering his hand as he frowned.

"See, why did you have to say that?" Harry asked in frustration. "We could have kept the peace. We could have just moved on and pretended that little sniping before didn't happen." Harry stated focusing on Draco, the Blond looking slightly taken aback by Harry's comment and wanted to speak up but Elizabeth interrupted to try and diffuse the situation before they all started falling out.

"What makes your family better?" Elizabeth asked looking at Draco, curious as to what his answer would be.

"The Malfoy family is an Old pureblood family, we have been skilled at magic for generations and have had influence for years and we've amassed numerous resources, both political and financial." Draco spoke smugly and Elizabeth shook her head.

"You parrot lines that have been spoken without understand what they mean. Your reputation is damaged through the actions in the last war." She spoke calmly, holding up a hand as Draco went to protest, silencing him. "Your family was found innocent but the implication is there. Be your own person, Draco." She said with a warm smile. Harry held his hand out again.

"Third times the charm, Harry Potter." He introduced politely and Draco after a moments pause, glancing between the two of them, ignoring Ron.

"Draco Malfoy." He replied coolly and took the offered hand shaking it. "You should get changed into your robes soon. We'll be arriving at the school soon." He said calmly before turning around and walking back out of the room. Harry let out a sigh and flopped back into his seat, glancing at Ron who was frowning, almost shifting into a glare.

"How could you shake hands with Malfoy?" He asked angrily and Harry shrugged.

"I've heard of the reputation of his family through the person I stayed with the last few weeks before coming here. I know their family is what people would call dark but I know that I can't just declare someone my enemy when they haven't done anything to me." Harry explained calmly.

"But he's a Malfoy! Their family worked for You-Know-Who!" Ron protested.

"But did Draco?" Harry asked and Ron stopped his comments.

"Well... No... But you know he's been raised with the Dark Arts." Ron protested.

"Do I? I've only met him once before at Madam Malkin's and while a bit full of himself he didn't seem too bad. I'll let him prove himself through his actions." Harry finished as he stood up to move out of the room so that Elizabeth could get changed into her robes. "But he was right about one thing, we're nearing the School so we need to get changed." He said walking out, Ron following after him.

Half an hour passed and the Train pulled into Hogsmeade station, students moved off their bags left behind as told by the prefects. Elizabeth, Harry and Ron were following the masses until they heard a voice shouting nearby "First years! First Years over here." A large man was shouting. Not just large, gigantic was a more fitting description, he towered above everyone, from first to seventh year student as he shouted over the crowd a group of children quickly forming up around him along with Elizabeth. The man looked at her in confusion before he realised who it was. "Ah, Miss DeWitt." He called out happily. "Dumbledore asked for me to pass on to you that you can choose either way to get to the School, though if you don't mind me saying, there's nothing like the view from the lake." Hagrid said happily and Elizabeth smiled, his happiness was easily contagious and great at putting the younger students at ease.

"With praise like that, how can I resist?" She asked politely as He started to lead them down towards the boats docked on the lake.

"We haven't been introduced, I'm Hagrid, pleasure to meet you." He introduced as students started to climb into the boat. "No more than four to a boat." He called out. Harry climbed into a boat, Draco sitting down behind him with Ron sitting on his other side, Elizabeth taking the last seat, sitting next to Draco who smiled at her. "Forward!" Hagrid called out and the boats started moving, the large man having a boat all to himself as they started moving along the water. "You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a few moments." He called out, the boats coming around an outcropping that blocked the school from view. "Mind your heads." He called out as they went under several trees with low hanging branches. the students ducked, Hagrid having to duck further as they came around the corner and there before them was the School.

Students gasped in amazement at the sight. Elizabeth realised that Bathsheda had been right, this really was the best way to see the huge castle, in the darkness, the windows glowing from God only knows how many candles were illuminating it, casting its glow over the lake. "No other view like it." Hagrid said more to Elizabeth than anyone else as the boats started to. "Alright, everyone out and we'll make our way up to the school." Hagrid called.

Harry and Ron were the first out of the boat, Draco was next and surprising those around him he turned around, offering his hand to Elizabeth. She smiled at the gesture, accepting the hand for what it was meant and stepped out of the boat. "Thank you." She said quietly as Hagrid started to lead them up the stairs into a smallish room.

"The First Years, Professors McGonagall." Hagrid said as the students saw a woman standing in dark green robes.

"Thank you Hagrid, would you take Elizabeth into the Great Hall?" She asked with a slight nod of greeting to Elizabeth. Hagrid gestured for her to follow and the two walked into the Great Hall.

If the outside of Hogwarts was stunning in its attractiveness, the Great Hall was breath taking, lit as it was with candles hovering on in the air, held in invisible chandeliers, the clear night sky shining through the enchanted roof distracted her for a moment before she remembered that the Hall was filled with students and more than half of them were staring at her, she smiled at them before returning her attention to follow Hagrid up to the staff table. She had been given the option to sit at either the staff table or with the Ravenclaw's but at this time she had decided to sit up with the Staff with someone she knew taking the seat that would place her next to Professor Flitwick and Babbling. As she sat down she smiled to the two Professors, Bathsheda leaning over to talk quietly to her.

"So how was your first train trip to Hogwarts?"

"Interesting, had a bit of a run in with a few of the younger students but they sorted themselves out quickly enough. Nothing to worry about. But you were right about that view from the boats." She said happily as the first years started to walk into the room, being led down the middle of the students. She saw Harry with Hermione next to him, whispering something but she couldn't make out what. The group soon reached the top of the House tables and McGonagall and the students looked at her as she placed the hat down on to the stool.

"Now you're about to see something that happens only once a year." Bathsheda quickly whispered as the tear in the hat opened up and started to sing.

 _"Oh you may not think I'm pretty..."_ It sang loudly, everyone giving it their undivided attention. Elizabeth was amazed at just how impressive the hat was. It could sing, it was designed to sort people into their respective houses. It was an impressive piece of magic and she was curious to see it in action from a spectator point of view.

 _"So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_ The Hat finished, bending over as it did, taking a bow as it finished the song. For a moment there was silence, the students giving the hat a second to see if he had properly finished the song before they broke out into cheers. a minute passed and the cheering continued before McGonagall stopped their applause and withdrew a list.

"When I call your name, you will come up, take a seat and I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head and you will be sorted into your house." McGonagall spoke unrolling the list of first year students. "Hannah Abbot." She called out, the first of many to be called, she was quickly sorted into Hufflepuff.

The list went on, Draco Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin almost immediately, as if the hat already knew quite well what Draco was going to be. But with his certainty when they first met, Harry knew that Draco was going to end up there. The girl he met on the train, Hermione was called up, she sat down, the hat going over her head and there was a longer pause. Harry could see her lips moving as she sat on the stool, as if she was arguing with it as to which house to go in. After several more moments it called out "GRYFFINDOR" and she took the hat off, happily moving down to the Gryffindor table.

There were a few more called and Harry knew that it was about to be his turn. "Harry Potter." She called and slowly he moved forwards, he could already hear the whispering around him from the students. _'Did she say Potter.' 'Harry Potter?' 'The Boy-Who-Lived is here!?'_ There were so many whispers but he ignored them, walking up and sitting on the stool, the hat coming down onto his head.

 _"Well, well, I wondered when I would get to sort you Mr Potter."_ The Hat whispered inside his mind. _"Such an interesting situation, the Boy-Who-Lived, but that title matters not here and now. You are brave boy, very brave, Gryffindor would serve you well... But there's something else about you, something that only Slytherin could bring to greatness.'_ It continued, digging deeper into his mind, Harry saw the students at their tables sitting forward, eagerly waiting to see who could bag the Boy-Who-Lived for their house. _"The attention doesn't interest you?"_ The hat asked and Harry shook his head slightly.

 _'I want to be known for what I can do, not for what some title that others have given me have decided on.'_ Harry responded mentally and the hat hummed a little bit as it toyed with the information.

 _"Are you sure? Slytherin could teach you to use that name, to make it work to your advantage. Gryffindor would ignore it but you'd still be a focus, you have a family to live up to."_

 _'If those are my only two options then I'll choose neither. I'll take a third option.'_ Harry retorted, the name meant nothing to him, a title that had been placed upon him years ago, he didn't want other people to think that he was going to be something that he wasn't because of a name or a legacy. He wanted to choose his own fate.

 _"A third option, that would take some work to achieve..."_ The Hat trailed off again thoughtfully. _"But there's something else, someone you want to stay close to, admirable loyalty you have there Mr Potter."_ The Hat commented proudly. _"You would have done Godric proud if he was still around but with loyalty like that there is only one house I can put you in..."_ The hat went silent again before it shifted on his head. "RAVENCLAW!" It shouted and the table of the eagle exploded in cheers. The Hat was removed from his head and as the rest of the people clapped in appreciation of the sorting he walked over to the Ravenclaw table, a space opened up between two of the students and he sat down, glancing up at the Head Table as the next name was called out, locking eyes with Elizabeth who just smiled and raised her glass to him before focusing back on the students that were left to be sorted.

Blaize Zabini was the last student to be sorted and he was placed into Slytherin. McGonagall picked up the stool and the Sorting Hat and left through the door at the side of the room as Dumbledore stood up. "Though I do have announcements to make, I know many of you are hungry and so they can wait until after the feast." He called out and clapped his hands, food appearing on the table magically. Dumbledore sat down and the students started to eat.

At the Ravenclaw table, the few students around Harry were trying to talk to him, not talking over each other but several tried to start conversations with him at the same time. "One at a time, one at a time." He said with a slight laugh, confidence he didn't think he would have felt before rising to the surface as the others looked between themselves to decide who would start.

One of them spoke up. "I'm Terry Boot, nice to meet you Harry." He said, the boy sitting next to him, short brown hair, a smile on his face as he shook hands with Harry. The rest took turns, introducing themselves to each other and to Harry as several of them hadn't met on the train or before Hogwarts. He smiled, it was nice enough at the moment, everyone more distracted by food than they were by the fact they had Harry Potter at the table.

Up at the Head Table, Flitwick was speaking to Elizabeth about Harry being sorted into Ravenclaw. "I am surprised." He said placing his goblet back on the table. "I did expect him to go to Gryffindor. I can tell you that McGonagall will be a bit upset, his father was one of her favourite students." Flitwick explained, Elizabeth smiling as Bathsheda commented before she could.

"In the month I've known Harry, I definitely saw him heading into Ravenclaw, he's been reading those books like crazy practically every day since he got them." She explained, thinking back to the times she had been there with both Elizabeth and Harry, they always seemed to have their noses in books. "About the only thing that I could have seen as a second major possibility would have been Hufflepuff because of how much work he was putting into everything, that and his want to make friends, his desire to help those in need and the amount of kindness he has shown already." She finished, returning to her food.

They continued their discussion during the feast, Elizabeth chiming in with bits and pieces when she was asked but otherwise just staying quiet and listening to the Atmosphere of the Hall, there were so many people just happily talking about their time during the Holidays, discussing the summer homework they had and moving on to talk about the upcoming year. After a little while, the food disappeared and was replaced with Dessert, Elizabeth was shocked at how many different varieties there were. She hadn't really had many back when she was in Columbia... not that the variety was as big either but that was beside the point. She kept an eye on the rest and just picked at bits and pieces sampling several of them.

But in no time at all it was gone again, the tables now clear of all food and Dumbledore stood up to talk. "Now I know you're all tired and would like to sleep but before you go, I do have a few announcements for you. Firstly, for our newest students and a reminder to our older students." He paused, looking at the Gryffindor table, two red heads in particular with a pointed look, though it was lessened slightly by the smile on his face. "The Forbidden Forest, is by definition Forbidden to all students without prior permission." He paused again, looking around before nodding his head slightly in the direction of the Caretaker. "I have also been asked to remind you, that the list of banned items has been pinned to the noticeboard outside Mr Filch's office. He would like me to inform you that the list has increased to include several more Zonko's items." Dumbledore stopped, looking towards Elizabeth. "We have a new staff member starting with us as you probably have noticed. Miss Elizabeth DeWitt will be with us for the foreseeable future, she will be assisting with classes throughout the year while working on her own studies." Dumbledore explained and the crowd of students politely applauded her, she smiled, blushing heavily and waved to them. "She will be staying in the Ravenclaw Head Girls dorm during her stay for now but will be more than happy to help anyone who has a problem, just like I hope you will also give her the courtesy of help as she adjusts to this new environment." He stopped again, looking around at the students, his face turning serious. "And the final announcement, but by no means least, The Third Floor Corridor on the Right Hand side is strictly Out of Bounds to all of those who do not wish to die a very painful death." He commented and there were a couple of students that chuckled but quickly went silent when there was no sign of joking in Dumbledore's attitude. "Thank you, Classes start tomorrow so now you will all want to get some sleep. Prefects please lead the first years to their dormitories. Good Night." He finished and the students started reacting, moving towards the doorway, calls by the prefects to their relevant houses to organise the First Years echoed above the general chatter.

"Elizabeth, you may want to head with them." Flitwick spoke and she nodded her head. It wouldn't do to get lost on the very first night that she was here properly. "Good Night and see you tomorrow for breakfast." He finished as they went their separate ways.

Tomorrow started a new life for her. One she was eager to see.

TBC

Chapter 4, another one that I enjoyed writing. I've always felt that Harry needed to speak up a bit more when dealing with people, I may have done a bit too much too soon with him but at the same time he doesn't have to fear the actions of the Dursley's if he stands up to people like Draco or Ron if they act out of order.

First year will still be hitting many of the points that appear in the book, the troll, the flying lesson chaos, the first Quidditch Match the midnight duel and the Detention in the Forbidden Forest, there wont be much deviation on the overall arc for first year but each scene will be different enough and have different situations play out. I hope that when we get to them you guys will like what I've done with them.

I've almost finished chapter 13, I've fallen a bit behind on my writing this week, a mixture of work and dealing with some personal issues but I'm still working on it, currently its at 5000 words and growing. I should be back on track with the chapters soon.


	5. Chapter 5: The First Few Days

**Chapter 5: The first few days**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock Infinite, they each belong to their respective owners._

The first thought that entered her mind upon waking was a simple one. Questioning how they made the beds so soft, she really didn't want to move when she woke up, truthfully, she didn't want to wake up, the bed she had was huge. She could stretch out; she could just relax in the privacy of her own room.

The Head Boy and Girl for the year were in Slytherin and Hufflepuff, so neither of the rooms were being used and so she had the run of the place to herself. It had all the basic amenities for a private room and study and even an ensuite bathroom. She had found her Trunk already here, sat at the foot of the bed and had put away some of the clothes to the Wardrobe provided but left a lot of them in the trunk until needed. She sat up, looking around the otherwise spartan room, she looked at the desk, the book that she had been reading sat face down, open on the page that she had left it. While probably not that good for the spine of the book It had been either that or have to try and remember where she was in the book, she had actually run out of bookmarks. Maybe she'd stop reading as many books at the same time. Dismissing that thought, she couldn't help it that there were so many things that were interesting to her, she pulled herself out the bed and dragged herself tiredly towards the shower as her mind begun to focus on what today would bring.

Assisting Professor McGonagall in first period, then nothing again until the afternoon where she would be assisting Professor Sprout with Herbology. This one wasn't with Gryffindor or Ravenclaw like Transfiguration, it was between Hufflepuff and Slytherin. It had surprised Bathsheda when the change around in certain classes was happening, normally it was split pretty much every class being Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and the other classes being Slytherin and Gryffindor which had help fuel no end of rivalries. This year though, Dumbledore wanted to try something else, break the tradition slightly and changed a few lessons around so that different houses interacted more in the younger years. The higher up classes were still the same but the lower ones, ones that would be less affected by the changes because they had yet to grow used to certain routines, were changed around.

In fact, at this time there was only one Gryffindor and Slytherin class and that was flying and that was only a handful of classes to teach the youngsters to fly and not kill themselves. Ravenclaw actually had more classes with Slytherin now, having Potions, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was an interesting change, Bathsheda had said, this was class organisation that had been the same for generations and now it was changed. It was curious as to what caused the idea to crop up.

Down in the first year's dorm, Harry was waking up as well, he was anxious to start the day and had barely slept the night before but he was already up and starting to get ready to head down to breakfast. Around him he could hear the other boys starting to make a move, groans of annoyance at being awake so early in the morning but they also knew they had to get up, first to give themselves time to get ready and also to give themselves extra time to work their way down to the Great Hall. He could still hear snoring from one of the beds, looking over he saw it was Stephen Cornfoot who was still sleeping. "Should we wake him?" Harry asked as he was pulling his shoes on.

"I suppose we should, can't have him late on the first day." Terry spoke up, reaching down and grabbing the dirty socks he had discarded the night before. "Oy! Stephen!" He shouted throwing them at Stephen's head through the gap in the curtains.

"Wha!?" The confused sound of Stephen shouted out as he was hit by the stinking projectiles. "Oh gods! Why would you do that?" He shouted, catching a whiff of the odour from the socks, flinching backwards at the smell of it, flinging them away from him.

"To get you awake." Terry responded cheekily. "You don't want to oversleep on your first day do you?" Terry asked and Stephen rolled back over, pulling the pillow back over his head.

"I've got plenty of time to get things done! I'm trying to sleep, make sure I can stay awake in class." Stephen responded, his voice muffled underneath the pillow.

"That's fine, that's fine." Terry responded just as calmly as he walked by. "We'll try and save you some food but who knows what will be left if you don't make a move soon." Terry taunted disappearing out of the doorway down towards the Common Room. Harry looked at the other First Year, rolled his eyes and walked out after Terry.

"Wait up Terry." He called out as he reached the Common Room. "May as well walk down together." He said happily as they exited the room.

"Sure, sounds like a plan, that way we can both get lost together." He joked although the route they had been shown the night before was almost a direct route to the Great Hall and was easy enough to remember, they had been warned that stairs had a habit of changing and doors seemed to shift when they wanted to but the route they had taken, which even included a secret passageway was static and had not changed in years if at all. "So what subject you looking forward to most?" Terry asked, last night the talk had mainly been about families but Terry had noticed that Harry had stayed silent and had deflected questions when they were directed at Harry about that. Everyone knew that he was an orphan, his parents dying and Harry surviving, but no one knew what his family life was like growing up. He was gone from the world, all that was left of him were rumours and the childrens books that were made with his name. But from what could easily be seen they had to have been made up. He looked nothing like a child that had fought Dragons and saved people from disaster after disaster as he grew up.

"Transfiguration." Harry replied, "I've been told my dad was really good at it. That and changing something into something else sounds so cool." He said with a certainty and cheerfulness that brought a smile to Terry.

"I'm looking forward to Potions. My dad was good at them and my mum wasn't that bad at it. I've heard Snape can be absolutely evil to anyone that isn't in Slytherin though." He added the end bit as an added after thought.

"Well I know we have Transfiguration first period today." Harry said and Terry looked at him.

"How on earth do you know that before you get your schedule?" He asked Harry who just smiled.

"Oh I have my sources," He said elusively. "You're not jealous at my completely reliable inside source are you?" He teased lightly and Terry shook his head.

"Not at all, I already know who it is." Terry responded as they walked down the stairway into the Entrance Hall. "It isn't difficult to work out, word spread on the train about you with a mystery woman on the train. Though the rumours as to what she was got quite outlandish." He said with a chuckle. "Some of them were even convinced she was your wife." He paused as Harry stumbled, laughing loudly at his reaction.

"You're joking right..." Harry practically pleaded. "That has to be a joke, right." Harry said again as he recovered his footing, mock glaring at Terry.

"I joke, I joke." Terry responded at the now highly embarrassed Harry who was frantically looking around to see if anyone heard him speak up like that. "But many things are being asked about her." Terry said glancing up at the Head table to see only a few professors there and not the new Teaching Assistant.

"Asked about who?" A voice behind Terry spoke up and Terry jumped, spinning around to see the woman in question standing there, Elizabeth dressed in basic black robes was looking at the two with a raised eyebrow. Terry went silent, suddenly finding himself blushing but Harry recovered and smirked.

"Apparently you are." He said in amusement.

"Me? and how did I become the centre of attention?" She asked with a look at Terry who shied away from the look. "Or Is it because of my association with you? Mr Boy-Who-Lived." She teased and Harry shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to listen to the title. "Or would it be rumours flying around with no regards to context about what is going on in the world?" She asked and the two stared at her in confusion, not fully knowing what she was trying to say.

"Erm... Yes?" Terry questioned in response, sounding really unsure, Elizabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, there are rumours about you, but more because of how you arrived instead of what you are." Terry explained and then blushed again at how he said it and the pointed look that was sent his way by Elizabeth.

"What I am?" She asked curiously and Terry blushed a deeper shade of red and quickly excused himself. "Boys." She muttered jokingly and turned to Harry who still looked confused. "You better get to breakfast." She said and he quickly excused himself before following Terry into the Great Hall. She stood in the doorway for a moment and watched Harry take his seat and smiled again, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she walked in making her way up to the Staff Table again. Yes, she could choose to sit with the students but at the moment she had just decided to try and get on with the Professors a bit more before she started mingling with the students both new and old.

At the Ravenclaw Table, Harry was still talking to Terry, a grin on his face as he thought about how he had reacted to Elizabeth. "So what were you saying before, because of what she is?" Harry asked jokingly.

"Didn't you hear some of the older students Harry?" Terry asked and Harry shook his head. After he had finished in the Great Hall and had been taken to the Common Room he had pretty much just sat in his bed thinking about what his parents would say about the house that he had been sorted in. In the back of his mind he knew they would be proud about what happened, they'd have been proud regardless of what happened but at the same time, the bit of self-doubt was making him wonder whether or not they would have been disappointed with how he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. "The older years have already started talking about the... and I quote here so don't blame me for this 'Really Hot' Assistant. She's already turning heads and she's only just arrived." Terry explained and seeing the look on Harry's face started chuckling, he looked so taken aback at that, the look shifting from one of disbelief to one of disgust and annoyance. "That's just what some of them were saying, it wasn't me." Terry held up his hands defensively before turning back to the food in front of him. "Pass the salt Harry." He said and Harry, without looking reached back, his hand grabbing the salt shaker before dropping it just as quickly, flexing his hand painfully as he did. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, it must have been a static shock or something, that hurt!" Harry cursed as he picked it up again, none the worse for wear and passed it to Terry.

"Could have been a minor prank, there were warnings about the Weasley Twins, they're pranksters in Gryffindor." Terry spoke with a glance at the Gryffindor table, seeing no sign of the Twins in question and then looking back at the pot. "I said salt Harry, not Pepper." He groused and Harry looked confused.

"I did pass the salt..." He said glancing at the pot in question and seeing it was indeed a pepper pot. He looked back at where he had grabbed and found another pepper pot. "That's strange... I guess there was a second pepper pot. Sorry bout that Terry" Harry trailed off trying to play it off as nothing major but the shock he felt alongside the second pot appearance made him wonder.

Had he really just been zapped by a little joke created by the Weasley Twins or had it been something else. He chanced a glance up at Elizabeth, she was in discussion with Professor Sprout about something and wasn't looking his way at all. He sighed, it would have to be something he spoke to her about later.

"Your timetable Mr Potter." The squeaky voice of Flitwick spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts as he looked to see Professor Flitwick holding out a sheet of parchment to him.

"Thank you sir," Harry said politely, taking the sheet and glancing down at it. Confirming his suspicion that his first class was Transfiguration. "See I told you." He said to Terry and the boy just nodded his head, barely looking up from his own schedule even though it was exactly the same as Harry's.

"Hi Harry, hi Terry. Managed to find your way down here easily enough I see?" a female voice spoke and Harry looked up from the schedule he was looking at and glanced at the newcomer to the table who was now sitting opposite the two.

"Hi... erm..." Harry trailed off, his mind now drawing a blank as he tried to remember the girl who was sitting there, she looked at him, an eyebrow raising on her features and Harry suddenly felt the name click to the forefront of his mind. "Su Li wasn't it?" Harry asked double checking on the name.

"You do remember things then Harry... eventually." She teased and he ducked his head.

"A lot of names to remember, I'm sorry." He apologised and she waved him off as she started her breakfast.

"I Guess you don't have to worry too much about people forgetting your name now do you?" She teased and he groaned in frustration dropping his head into his hands. Terry smiled, reaching over and patting him on the back condescendingly. "Lifestyles of the rich and the famous mate." He said cheerfully. "You'll get used to it." He added as an afterthought. They continued eating in silence, still trying to wake up and Harry largely because he was focused on the pepper pot he had passed.

He was certain it was a salt pot. Looking down the table he saw several more, they were exactly the same. Why was this one different? He took the chance to glance at it, it looked identical to the other pepper pot it now sat right next to. Had it been because of the tears that he could see? was it the power that he was developing? he sighed, pushing it out of his mind for the moment. He had to focus on the magic for the moment, not whatever power this was. But at the same time a thought crossed his mind. _'What if this comes into effect during classes?'_ He thought and quickly banished it. Elizabeth had implied that it relied on willpower, her will to interact with the object and pull it into the dimension, to open the door so to speak. So all he had to do was focus, to make his way through the day and be careful that nothing happened. That he didn't subconsciously activate any more of these tears, if that is even what happened, it could easily have just been a case of him mistaking a second pepper pot as a salt pot, but he was sure it had been salt when he reached for it. "Harry... Earth to Harry." Terry called, snapping him out of his thoughts, he looked at him in confusion.

"Sorry, was in my own world there." Harry said apologetically, Terry rolled his eyes but repeated his question.

"You're looking a bit lost, are you okay?" He asked seriously and Harry nodded his head.

"I'm fine, just a lot to take in all at once." Harry said half-heartedly. Trying to draw Terry away from what he was thinking about and playing more to the fact that they were in an entirely different world, at least they were to Harry. "We should probably head back to the dorm soon, get the books for class." Harry finished, checking his watch for the time. "We don't want to end up late before we even begin. That surely can't go over well." Harry added as he stood up making his way out of the Great Hall.

Terry and Su Li stopped for a moment and shared a look, "he seems a bit distracted." Su commented calmly as she watched him exit the room. "Is it because of all the whispering?" She asked looking at the students that were already here for breakfast, many of whom had watched Harry as he walked out of the Great Hall whispering and talking quietly to each other.

"It's possible, he seemed fine earlier though. Even had a joke at my expense with what the new assistant overheard earlier." Terry explained as he pulled himself out of the seat. "Though I'm loathe to leave this food behind, it's so nice. He's right, we should probably head to the dorm and get our stuff." Terry finished, walking out the Great Hall as Stephen quickly moved by him. "Woke up then Stephen?" Terry asked jokingly.

"Shut up, I don't have long for food, no one said that the food disappears ten minutes before class." He called as he ran to take a seat. Looking at his watch, Terry saw that Stephen only had five minutes to take some food and eat it before the food would disappear. Su Li watched him shovelling food onto his plate and shook her head, standing up and walking after Terry.

"He does realise that doesn't happen right?" She asked. "How else would the older students with free periods get food if it disappeared this early?" She asked and the two quickly made their way up to the Ravenclaw Tower.

Elizabeth had also departed the Great Hall, shortly after the three had left and made her way to the Transfiguration Classroom, she smiled at a couple of students, acutely aware that they were rushing to get to their own subjects but didn't say anything. She walked into the classroom, glancing around, no one else was in although a cat was sat on the Desk for the professor. _'Perhaps it was her pet?'_ She said looking at the cat, walking over and gently petting it before moving over to the side of the room, she leant against the wall, folding her arms as she looked around the desks, there were no names on the tables so she assumed they could sit where they want. She sighed, her thoughts on the future, how long would she stay here? At least a year at minimum, she had agreed to do this and she'd do it to the best of her ability. the first of the students entered, seeing her standing there she nodded her head in greeting. "Pick a seat, Professor McGonagall will be here soon I'm sure." Elizabeth said and the students started to take seats. "Until she does, if you get your books out and start reading the first chapter, it'll fill up a bit of time and have the added bonus of being relevant to the lesson when she arrives." Elizabeth finished and slowly the students did as they were told, as others trickled in, she saw that the cat was staring at her, _'and did it just nod its head at me?'_ Elizabeth thought in confusion, looking intently at the cat. _'It does seem to have intelligent eyes.'_ Elizabeth continued, checking the clock that sat at the back of the room. Lessons had begun.

Harry sat with the book in front of him, pretending to read, he had already looked into this before the year had started and felt he could quote some of the chapter, he looked at the other students, there were a couple of spaces open and he couldn't see the red head that he had met on the train... Ron Weasley, if he remembered the name properly? He shrugged his shoulders slightly, it wasn't his problem if he was late to the lesson, he was curious as to where the Gryffindor Tower was, perhaps that was the cause of it? A brown haired girl raised her hand, Lisa Turpin of Ravenclaw. She was looking at Elizabeth intently.

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, she was only an assistant, not even properly trained in magic, she was not a hundred percent sure that she should give the answer to any question that was asked but at the same time her own pride wouldn't let her refuse the challenge. "Yes miss..." She trailed off not knowing the girls name.

"Turpin, Lisa Turpin," She said quietly and gestured at the book. "I've read this already but there's something I'm not sure about. In the book it refers to three things. Will, Power and Imagery, what does it mean? it never really evolves from there in the book." She said in confusion and Elizabeth agreed, the book was a bit on the vague side, but it was something that she had been able to piece together, both through her own reading and talking with Bathsheda.

"This one I can start, but Professor McGonagall would be better for explaining it. Transfiguration in its most basic form, changing one thing to another." She started, it was a very vague description of it, not that good and the Professor would probably have killed her for it. But it worked for the moment. "To change something though you need what that book tells you, the Will to change one thing into another, including living into an inanimate object. Power, the power behind the spell to change an object, breaking its current form and reshaping it into something new and the third part, Imagery, let's see if anyone else knows." She looked at the class, "Mr Potter, as the only name that I know here, you can answer." She teased and he nodded his head, he had a feeling he'd be picked by her.

"Imagery, the ability to mentally picture the change, to see the object in your mind changing into something else. to see the steps in your head of the change so that you can then focus your magic and make the change." Harry explained, pausing as he heard footsteps dashing heavily towards the room. He turned his head towards the doorway to see Ron and another Gryffindor run into the room panting and out of breath, very red in the face.

"We made it before the professor." Ron declared breathlessly.

"Not entirely." his friend said pointing at Elizabeth. Ron paled, looking at her as she stared back, an eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.

"Sorry we're late Eliz... Miss DeWitt." Ron muttered, switching to a more professional approach rather than refer to her by her first name in a classroom.

"It's not her you need to be apologising to Mr Weasley." McGonagall said, having jumped off the table, shifting from a cat into the stern looking professor, there were several gasps from the students and Ron and the other Gryffindor standing there slack jawed in surprise.

"That was incredible!" Ron called out after a moment of silence.

Thank you and now I ask you, why are you late?" She asked.

"We got a bit lost on the way down here Professor." The other boy said, a slight Irish lilt to his voice.

"Then maybe I should transfigure one of you into a map." She said, her voice steely and serious and everyone stared at her in shock. "Or perhaps a pocket watch. That way one of you may be on time." She said before gesturing for them to take their seats. "The rest of you, congratulations on arriving and starting on time." She said with a kindness and then turned to Elizabeth giving her a slight nod of approval. "You do well with children Miss DeWitt," McGonagall complimented, "And excellent answer to the question, if you were a student I'd give you points." McGonagall complimented again and Elizabeth smiled bashfully, ducking her head slightly. "And you Mr Potter, take five points for Ravenclaw with that answer, you show a good understanding of the work." She said before moving to her desk. "Transfiguration is one of the most dangerous schools of magic to learn, the risks with the spells are high, with many risks that come from this class I will not tolerate misbehaviour." She finished her initial statement and then begun to take the roll call to make sure everyone was here, Elizabeth listening intently as each student responded putting a name to a face. After the register had been checked and everyone was accounted for. McGonagall started the first lesson, "the first spell is a simple one, but it's practices can be considered the stepping stone to everything in this class." She withdrew a matchstick, placed it on the table and pointed her wand at it, she called out the spell and the match turned into a pointy, shiny metal needle. She reached down, picking it up. "A simple Transfiguration but challenging to start with, can anyone explain why using this spell is a starting step?" She asked looking around at the students, a few hands raised.

"Miss Granger." McGonagall called after a second of seeing who had their hand up.

"It applies all three aspects for transfiguration to something small, it will allow us to see the power needed on this scale, the will we need to change it and allows us to mentally picture the change of the match to the wand." Hermione explained and McGonagall nodded.

"correct, five points to Gryffindor." She said with a small smile. "Miss DeWitt, if you hand a match out to everyone on this half," McGonagall ordered and handed her a handful of matches before handing one out to each student on the other half of the class. Elizabeth walked down the gaps between the desks and handed each of the students a match. "Anyone able to do this by the end of the lesson will receive points." She said as she moved back to the front of the room.

Elizabeth reached the back of the room, handing the last match to Harry. As she turned to head back to where she had been standing, Harry stopped her for a second. "I need to speak to you later." He said quickly, his voice barely above a whisper. She leant down closer, to hear him speak. "I think your power has evolved." He muttered and she closed her eyes in resignation before nodding her head.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later, depending on how the rest of the work goes." She said before walking away, looking at each of the students' progress as they worked on their spell. Elizabeth knew Latin, she had studied it as she was in the tower and helped a couple of the students with their pronunciation of the words, McGonagall focusing on correcting wand movements. As she walked around, she made sure she wasn't over stepping her boundaries with the help she was giving with a slight questioning glance at McGonagall but with a slight smile and a nod she knew that she was okay.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson and students had made little progress, though a couple had managed to make the change, Harry and Hermione being the quickest of the two. they each earned five points for their house and quickly left when McGonagall dismissed them, giving Homework for a foot of parchment to be done on the practicality of the spell. Elizabeth waited as the last student walked out and faced McGonagall. "You want to know how you did, don't you?" She asked and Elizabeth nodded. "Overall, you have done well for your first support. You took control of the class when you saw that I was not here so to speak." She smiled at that, Elizabeth didn't say anything though McGonagall could see the question was already there. "I am an Animagus, I have the ability to turn into an animal, a cat as you saw. It is a little trick I do every time I have a new class, to show them what can be done with Transfiguration and to also see how they act when they believe no teacher is present." She explained, "You have the understanding for the class you're going to be helping with, you spent a lot of time reading during the last month didn't you?"

"Pretty much every day, I thought I was going to get tired of doing the research for it but I found it so interesting." She said happily.

"Good, it'll help to stay ahead of what the other students are learning. Did you perform any spells before you came here?" McGonagall asked and Elizabeth nodded. She had done the first handful of spells that would be covered in the classes and was working on her own to advance things but she also knew that would slow down in the near future. "Keep up this level of work and everything will be fine." McGonagall said in a dismissive tone and Elizabeth turned to leave. "Oh Elizabeth." McGonagall called out as she reached the door. "Good Work on your first lesson, if you find yourself struggling, my door will always be open for you to come to." She said politely and Elizabeth thanked her again before heading off.

She felt warm inside at the compliment she had been given, all she had done was what she felt was right given the situation and it had worked out fantastically, she made her way back up to the Ravenclaw Dorm, she had a free period so was going to spend the time looking over things in preparation for the lesson she would be helping this afternoon.

She turned the corner slamming into someone and staggered back, wobbling slightly as her heel caught the edge of the stone tile before she recovered. "Oh, I'm sorry... I wasn't paying attention." Elizabeth spoke looking at the person she had bumped into, who had barely flinched at the impact.

He was taller, taller than her in fact, short black hair and cold eyes, eyes that studied her as she looked at him. He smiled, his teeth stained and Elizabeth resisted the urge to grimace at the poor dental hygiene. "Forgive me Miss DeWitt..." The guy spoke the tone of his voice sending a chill down her spine as he lifted her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles, lingering slightly longer than appropriate. "I'm Marcus Flint." He spoke as he let go of her hand. she let her arm drop, surreptitiously rubbing her hand clean against the side of her robe. "I thought I'd introduce myself to you, I don't think you've had the chance to meet many of the older students." He said, not being subtle in the slightest as he eyed her up and down.

The look made Elizabeth's skin crawl but she steeled herself. "Thank you Mr Flint," she said, her voice tense, "but I'm a bit busy at the moment, so perhaps we can talk at another time?" She asked, trying to give him the hint to go away. The smile on Flint 's face faltered but he recovered and nodded his head, stepping away from her to let her pass.

"I've been told you're not confined to the Staff Table for meals." He spoke as she stepped away, stopping her dead in her tracks. "I would be honoured if you would join me at the Slytherin table for a meal in the near future." He said and she hesitated.

"I... will think about it, I do plan to try and speak to people in several houses, but for now I'm quite alright sitting at the Staff Table." She finished, walking away, acutely aware that Flint's eyes were watching her as she left. He could lead to be a problem, or he could just be this creepy because he has no actual clue as to how to talk to a woman. Elizabeth didn't really have any intention to find out either way. Reaching the Entrance to the Ravenclaw Head Girls room, she said the password that she had given the door. The password being Songbird. a word that had so many connections to her, so much history, so many emotions both happy and sad. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, sitting on the desk was a book with a note placed on top. She wondered who was responsible for it, no one should have entered the room to drop it off but here it was.

She took the letter, looking at it and opened it up. She relaxed, smiling at her own over exaggerated paranoia, it was a letter from Professor Sprout, she had the House Elves... whatever they were, deliver the book to her room so that she could be prepared for her lesson later on. she flicked it open, her eyes widening as she saw what it was. It wasn't just a few notes that she could peruse to prepare for any possible questions that might come about, it was a book full of lesson plans for the year. She closed the book, her brow creasing as she frowned, "why didn't they all just give me one of these?" She asked aloud, moving and sitting on her bed as she flicked it open again, turning to the first couple of pages. "Let's see what she has planned today." She muttered, falling back onto the bed, holding the book above her as she read.

Time passed quickly as she read the lesson plan, using the first year Herbology book to look up more of the relevant information on the plants that they were going to be caring for and before she even knew it, the first bell to signal the start of lunch had begun ringing through the tower, loudly. She closed the book, placing it back onto the desk, making sure to put a couple of other books on top to try and hide it in plain sight. If a student did get in here, she didn't want them running off with all the lesson plans. That would go over about as well as a house on fire.

For Harry, the last lesson had proved problematic, he liked history, he liked learning about the past. How the hell could you make brutal Goblin Rebellions sound so boring as to make people fall asleep. The teacher was a ghost. An actual Ghost! How could something as cool as that be so mind numbingly dull? He yawned again, struggling to stay awake as he made his way down to the Great Hall for lunch, Terry staggering to the side of him and Stephen half leaning against him and half shuffling still attempting to wake up properly after having fallen asleep about five minutes into the lesson.

Harry had at least lasted fifteen minutes before falling asleep, his quill discarded to the side and his head resting in his arms. The Professor didn't even notice. No points were deducted, no acknowledgement of the blatant misbehaviour and lack of attention. He just kept talking, in the same dull monotonous tone of voice. Even when the bell went, he didn't stop, seemingly running on his own schedule, not even paying attention as students left the room.

If that was how History was going to be taught then he didn't want to even bother attending the lessons, he just wanted to do independent study.

They sat down at the Ravenclaw table, sounds of exhaustion and tiredness still predominant as they reached for food, barely communicating with each other or anyone else for that matter.

"First lesson with Binns?" One of the older students asked, Harry couldn't remember if he had introduced himself the night before but dismissed the thought as he nodded. "Yeah... even the most studious person doesn't stay awake long in there." He spoke with a laugh and Harry couldn't disagree. "The Ravenclaw's generally have a bit of a study session on Thursday nights to cover history, the older years help the youngsters like yourself." He said with another laugh before returning to his food.

So now Harry had plans for Thursday nights, the history lessons may have been pointless but the evening studies with the other students could prove useful and really help him with future tests and lessons.

The rest of the first day passed peacefully for both Harry and Elizabeth, their respective subjects going well, with Harry having Defence Against the Dark Arts, which while slow was relatively interesting, the dark creatures that Quirrel managed to stutter out. He was interactive with the class, having asked students questions and put notes up on the board for them to cover, with homework to look into Grindylows. All in all, a successful lesson that didn't leave him asleep. It was definitely a positive note to end on.

In Herbology Elizabeth had done the same that she had with McGonagall, she stood to the side of the Greenhouse, kept an eye on the students as they did their repotting of the plants that Sprout had for them, stepping in to help them before they either destroyed the plant or the plant lashed out at them. It was a relatively harmless plant but it's vines could leave a mark if they weren't too careful. After that, dinner and then independent time for the students. Again she found herself returning to her room, with no intention of leaving for the rest of the evening. Not to be antisocial but just to think, she wanted to try and avoid getting dragged into the House Rivalries that were going on and she knew that there was going to be some lingering situation because of where she was staying but didn't think anyone would make any comments about house bias.

Dumbledore had explained her power as an assistant, she could assign detention but take no points, it was fair enough, that way there would be less chance of Bias being shouted due to her being in the Ravenclaw Dorm.

A knock on her door drew her away from her thoughts, she walked away from the window she had been looking at and opened it. "Oh, Harry, I forgot you were coming here." She said happily, stepping back and letting him into the room. "You said earlier that you wanted to talk about the power?" She asked as he entered, walking over to her desk and taking a seat, turning the chair to face her.

"I think it's evolving." He said and she nodded her head, the smile diminishing slightly but still remaining in place.

"Evolving? How?" She questioned, walking over to her bed and sitting on the edge, focusing on him.

"It was something that happened at Breakfast, it could be a coincidence, a simple prank that was pulled to mix them up when someone picked them up but I don't think so. I think this was something that changed because of what I did."

"Hold up, you're not making any sense... what object? what mix up?" She asked calmingly.

"At breakfast, I was talking to Terry, he asked me to pass the salt, I knew where it was so I reached without looking, went to pick it up and felt a shock," He spoke and she nodded her head, gesturing for him to continue. "I passed it to him and it wasn't the salt pot. it was the pepper pot." He continued and the raised eyebrow showed her doubt about this being affected by the powers. "Maybe I'm over reacting about it, maybe I've not used the power but it was something I felt I needed to talk to you about it." Harry said and Elizabeth again stayed silent, he could see the cogs working in her mind, her eyes glancing around.

"Can you see any in here?" She asked, he looked around, focusing on trying to find out if there were any tears in the room. "But not near the wardrobe." She added jokingly. "I don't want you changing all my clothes into something that doesn't fit." She teased, a memory of one of her old incidents where she had updated her wardrobe as a kid... with clothing about three sizes too big.

"There's one by the window," he called standing up and walking towards the window, "The cushions are different," He explained, reaching up to the tear.

"Try and open it." She said quietly, watching intently. "focus on pulling the object through, if it helps, try reaching up with your hands and pulling as if you were opening double doors." She suggested. Harry stared at the rift, focusing on it, picturing the rift opening, he reached up, trying to grasp it but of course as it wasn't physically there, he grabbed nothing but air. He closed his eyes, thinking about the rift and mentally pictured himself opening it. he felt a tug on himself, a slight crackle of energy and he opened his eyes again, the cushions that had been a plain blue before, sat in the windowsill were now blue but with the Ravenclaw Eagle imprinted in the corner. "This shouldn't be possible..." Elizabeth muttered in disbelief.

"What shouldn't?" He asked, Elizabeth had been quite tight lipped on how she had acquired her power, she had told him what it was and how it worked but she never said how she got the powers to begin with.

"My powers come because of this." She said slowly, after a few minutes of silence, holding up her hand and showing the missing tip of her pinkie finger, the thimble that rested on the end of it covering it. "When I was younger, there was a... situation, I don't want to talk about it right now." She firmly stated and he nodded. "When that happened, I lost the end of my finger, it was left, in another time, another dimension. With it though, I was able to pierce the barriers of time and dimensions, it's confusing but I believe the best way that summed it up was that the Universe doesn't like mixing its peas and its porridge." She said, remembering the audio diary that had been found that explained a theory as to why she had her powers back in her attempt to escape Columbia. "That is the only reason I was so certain that you wouldn't have access to the powers." Elizabeth explained and Harry nodded his head though he still seemed confused about it. "Keep this quiet Harry, others can't know how you do this, it would put both of us in danger." Elizabeth quickly said and Harry promised.

She had done nothing but help him, she had trusted him and he wasn't going to let her down.

The rest of the week passed quickly they both settled into routines and they had started to make a few friends, Harry with Terry and the sense of humour he seemed to have, taking things relatively laid back while still being attentive to what was going around. It seemed like every morning he had some new bit of gossip that he had heard. If he didn't know better Harry would have thought that he was meeting up with the gossips in the school purely to find this out and torment him. Especially about the rumour of a Harry Potter fan club.

Dear God, Harry really hoped that it was indeed a rumour.

Su Li was another that he had started to talk to, she had an interesting perspective on things, having come from a magical family from outside of Europe, she found a lot of the culture strange but had been willing to talk about variations and also about variations between Muggle and Magical culture. He was still amazed at just how detached the wizarding world was from the non-magical world. He wondered if they knew half the dangers that existed or whether they dismissed it all without much concern.

If they did, they were remarkably foolish.

Today they had Potions as their first lesson, a double lesson at that. Harry had been hesitant about it, they were sharing it with Slytherin which wasn't too bad, though having to deal with Blaize Zabini was a chore. The guy had taken coming second to Harry in Transfiguration and Charms as a personal challenge to one up him where he could. With the Potions professor being the head of Slytherin House, he wondered if Blaize would feel emboldened by that fact and try to do something.

He had an ally though. Even if she wouldn't do anything, a set of eyes to keep track of the class was all he needed if he needed to defend his actions against Professor Snape. He was prepared and ready to go.

They arrived at the classroom, the door was open but neither Elizabeth or Snape were there. They entered, taking their seats, sitting in the middle of the room. Others quickly filtered into the room sitting down, withdrawing their wands and their potions books.

Snape had a reputation, everyone knew it and although the Slytherin's had a slightly easier time, they knew when to push their luck and when not to. The very first lesson would not be a good time to turn up extremely late.

The bell rang.

Chatter in the room died in an instant, they waited in silence for the arrival of Snape, taking the time to look around the room. Harry saw Draco sitting at the front of the class, the blonde having turned in his seat to study who else was here and nodded his head in silent greeting to Harry. Since the train they hadn't had the time to actually talk but it was one that he wanted to get back to. Ever since he had found out about the blood discrimination he wanted to find more information as to where it started, who caused the problems to be such a large focal point at the moment and whether or not they could ever stop it. Only a month into the Wizarding World and he was already on a crusade to save the innocents and remove intolerance.

"Put away your wands." Snape snapped as he walked into the room, "you will not need them here." He added walking straight to his desk, the register sat open on his first class. Immediately he started to go through the list calling out each name for a very succinct response. As he reached Harry's name he stopped, a sneer on his features. "Ah yes, Mr Potter... our new class... celebrity." He growled out and Harry frowned. He expected bias but not like this. This wasn't just bias that was showing with Snape as he spoke Harry could hear the bitterness in his voice, this was more hatred than just ordinary bias. Snape continued the list quickly reaching the end of it before he stepped around the front of the desk, looking over the students. "As there will be no foolish wand waving here, many of you will doubt that this is magic." He begun, watching each of the students carefully, "I don't expect you to understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate and subtle power of liquids that creep through the human veins." His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper and Harry found himself leaning forwards slightly both to hear what he was saying and in fascination. The man had a way with words, insulting as they were when directed at a person, he could draw attention to himself with how he spoke and Harry had to admit that it was impressive. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, ensnare the senses and even put a stopper in... death." He paused their attention still focused on him before he sneered again. "That is if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." He said degradingly and Harry found himself disappointed that he had finished with that, he had started to edge up on being interesting and a good teacher even with the underlying hatred and then he went for a personal attack against the students. "Potter, tell me what I would have if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" He asked and Harry frowned. If it was first year potions that the question would be related to, then he had yet to get that far in the book.

In the back of his mind though, the cynical part of him pointed out that this was a test that Snape had already decided that he had failed. "I don't know Sir." Harry responded calmly, the smirk on Snape's face showed him all he needed to know.

"You don't know? Let's try another one, where would I find a bezoar?" Snape asked and Harry responded, almost as quickly as Snape finished.

"It's a stone found in the stomach of a goat." Harry had to bite back a 'take that.' After answering the question, a glance and a subtle shake of her head from Elizabeth who was standing at the back of the room after she had followed Snape into the classroom.

"Correct, clearly the hat wasn't completely mistaken with where you were sorted." He taunted and Harry felt his hand clenching under the table. "What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" He asked and Harry was again stumped by the question.

"I don't know sir." He bit out.

"Pity." Snape commented, "clearly fame isn't everything."

"That's out of line." Elizabeth snapped, interrupting before Snape could say anything else. There was a gasp from the students, their eyes darting behind Snape to Elizabeth, then back to Snape who didn't say anything at first before barely glancing back at her. She wasn't going to let him push Harry around with whatever problem he had with the child.

"You are here to assist in the lesson not to try and tell me how to teach. Keep quiet until you are needed." He said, his voice deathly calm. Elizabeth glared, her own frustration at the actions already reaching breaking point. She should have better control than this, she knew she should but at the same time, it was how he acted, a man in his thirties belittling an eleven year old was not right. "To answer the questions though, adding powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood will create a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as Draught of the Living Dead. A Bezoar is indeed found inside the stomach of a goat and will save you from most known poisons." He paused again, the students were still watching him but their eyes kept darting to Elizabeth to see if she was going to act. "Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant that also go under the name of Aconite." He finished with the third answer, seeing none of them react. "Well, why are none of you writing this down?" There was a dash for Quills and parchment to write down the information given and Snape watched over them as they wrote in silence.

After they had written the information he had the class begin to make a simple cure for boils, the text with the instructions appearing on the board. It had been going relatively smoothly, the talk kept to a minimum with them each working on their own separate potions. Elizabeth had watched silently from the back of the room, eyes locked intently on Snape as he moved around, overseeing the students, giving quiet words of direction to Slytherin students and barely saying a word to the Ravenclaw's.

It wasn't until about half way through the potion making process that something went wrong. Elizabeth had spotted it, barely a second before it happened, Zabini had something in his hand, she couldn't tell what and with Snape's back turned he threw it into the cauldron on the table across from him. Up until this point Padma Patil, the girl on the table next to him had been preparing ingredients for the next step, her attention away from the potion but she had heard the splash of the object hitting her potion.

She turned just in time for it to explode in her face.

She screamed, covering her face as the hot liquid splashed across it, boils already starting to form up on her face. Snape and Elizabeth quickly made their way over. "Stupid girl, Miss Turpin, Miss McDougal, take her to the infirmary." Snape ordered, the two Ravenclaw girls quickly grabbing Padma and getting her out of the room. "Potter! Why did you not tell her to take her cauldron off the flames before adding the Porcupine Quills?" Snape snapped and Harry blinked in surprise, how was he supposed to have known what she was doing? She was sat at the table behind him on the opposite side. In the back of his mind something popped to the forefront, a mental image of this scene playing out but different, Snape speaking about another boy and lecturing Harry about something. It threw him off, preventing him from responding but that was the window that an already angry Elizabeth used to cut in.

"That's enough!" Elizabeth snapped again, drawing the Professors attention to her. "I will not let you blame someone for something that is not their fault."

"Miss DeWitt, you are out of line." He sneered in response, throwing the line that she had used back at her but she didn't back down.

"I'm out of line? You're belittling students and trying to pass blame for something that one of yours was responsible for." She snapped gesturing to Blaize Zabini who was doing his best to not be noticed and keep from looking guilty.

"I would thank you to not try and interfere with how I run my class."

"Run your class? that would require you to teach and not bully." Elizabeth retorted disdainfully. "How could Harry have seen what had happened even if Padma had made a mistake, which she didn't!" Elizabeth snapped. "His own potion is in front of him and she isn't near him." She continued.

"Everyone out." Snape snapped, the students quickly recovering from their shock and quickly bagging their books and hightailing it out of the room. "Miss DeWitt, I do not know how you were taught but in this room I am in charge."

"Then you're a blind and terrible leader." Elizabeth responded. "From the moment he stepped in the door you were not going to give him a chance were you?" She asked and Snape sneered, giving her the answer that she needed before he even spoke.

"Potter does not need any more help than he no doubt has already received," Snape responded and Elizabeth laughed.

"Help? he was introduced to magic roughly a month ago now. What help could he possibly have received? His aunt and uncle who hate magic? His cousin who is also completely not magical… perhaps you mean myself who has the same level of education that he does? So which resource pool did he get it from?" Elizabeth challenged before sighing and waving it off. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. Zabini sabotaged that Potion and he will be serving detention." Elizabeth snapped and Snape glared at her.

"You don't have the authority to assign detentions to my students." Snape growled out and Elizabeth again felt the urge to laugh.

"You left too soon when I was here before. I have the authority to give detentions to ANYONE that breaks the rules." She responded triumphantly. "He will be serving detention, this Saturday with Professor Flitwick." She reinforced. "And I advise you Snape, whatever grudge you have against Harry, whatever has caused this hatred, I will not tolerate it. Neither will he." Elizabeth snapped and turned to storm out but Snape pointed his wand at the door and it slammed shut and locked with a loud click.

"This conversation isn't over." Snape growled in anger.

"Bigger people have tried to stand in my way Snape." She growled, turning to face him a look of pure venom in her eyes. "I am not some school child that will let you push me around and be intimidated by petty scare tactics." She pushed back angrily, a cold smirk on her features. "And this will be the first and last warning to you... and everyone else that would try this." She growled out, turning back to the door, a bang echoing through the room as the door swung open again, hitting the wall with enough force to bring it off its hinges, the door hitting the floor with another loud bang. "I will NOT, be locked up again!" She finished, walking out of the room leaving Snape to his own thoughts.

To him though, the argument had already gone from his mind as he stared at the damage done to the door. It looked like something had blown it open from the outside in. the door was burnt and charred.

How had she done that without a wand?

TBC

There is the next chapter done and dusted, it's slow and I really wanted to rush further into the year but I felt the initial bit needed to be done.

I both like the Snape and Elizabeth encounter and I dislike it at the same time. It went well and I don't think an angry Elizabeth would give him the chance to actually speak or do anything if she really went off and I think that a blatant injustice and bias from Snape would be enough to get her angry. Next chapter will be a bit of a time skip me thinks, I want to get the early years done relatively quickly but I also want to go into it more at certain points. So next chapter: Flying lessons and Halloween.

Chapter 13 is completed fully and Chapter 14 has been started, things have been a bit hectic again for me at the moment, work shifts dramatically changed and car troubles kind of kept me distracted. I'm going to be working on it the moment I upload this chapter though. And to think I wanted to rush through Year one and yet I'm on Chapter 14 and not even at the Easter Holiday part yet. Still a story flows better when not forced to skip parts and just writes itself naturally.

I want to thank everyone who has left me a review and added my story as their favourite and those who have added me as a favourite author. It's a good feeling everytime I see one of those email notifications.

If you have any questions for me that you want answering feel free to PM me or leave me a review. I reply to them as I see them and try to answer as much as I can without spoiling the story as a whole. Though it's kinda been scary how some people have managed to call several scenes that are going to appear in the future… I'm beginning to think some of you have got a hold of my notes :P


	6. Chapter 6: Troll or Treat!

**Chapter 6: Troll or Treat!**

 _Disclaimer: You know the drill; I don't own anything related to Bioshock or Harry Potter_

 _Edited 25/02/2017: Made a minor change to fix a small section thanks to a reviewers input. Thanks for the observation_

 _Note: Not around this weekend or the next so I'm going to be uploading this chapter early and the other one will be postponed a week. See note at end of the chapter_

It did not take long for the Potions explosion to spread around the school.

And by not long... the entire school knew before dinner.

Elizabeth already knew she was going to get into some sort of trouble for it. She had acted completely unprofessional, destroyed a door and completely ran roughshod over Snape's authority.

She didn't care. She'd do it again in a heartbeat. What he had done was petty and wasn't right in the slightest. If that meant that he forcibly had to remove her from the class to make sure she didn't get involved, then so be it. "One week and you're already causing trouble." Bathsheda joked at dinner, the two sat at the end of the staff Table with Snape sitting at the opposite end, there was a dislike in his look but not hatred, something more akin to curiosity and pensiveness that made Elizabeth frown. He seemed too calm for what had happened.

"I did what needed to be done." She said abruptly, focusing on her food.

"You stood up for your students. a teacher... or an assistant shouldn't do any less." Bathsheda responded politely. "Though, tact may be better for the future, it doesn't do to undermine a Professor's authority in front of the students."

"If you think I'm going to let him get away with bullying other people." She started but Bathsheda held a hand up to stop her.

"I don't want you to stop that, to be honest the staff here have given him too much slack for way too long." Bathsheda sighed, pushing the food on her plate around with her fork, "Just think about it though, there is a time and a place for words to be spoken by people in authority." She said quietly and Elizabeth huffed, looking away from Bathsheda. She may have had a point. It didn't mean she had to like it.

Through the next couple of days, she heard people talking about her, rumours circulating about the argument even some going so far as to say she had duelled Snape after he had kicked everyone out. Which was crazy because she knew that she'd have lost in a heartbeat if that had come around. She could fight, but not with magic. And even then, she wasn't trained to fight, they were just instincts she had picked up on in the escape from Columbia and then...

She kicked those thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on what had been happening in the past. Here and now, that is where she was, here and now is where she was going to stay. There was one light in all of this. The Weasley Twins, notorious pranksters had spoken up, greatly impressed by her confronting Snape. Now referring to her as Queen Elizabeth when they saw her. She had laughed and that was all the encouragement she needed to give them for it to continue. So now, she found herself sat at the Gryffindor Table, one Friday evening, listening to the twins talk about some of their escapades, from a purely hypothetical stand point of course. They couldn't admit to what they were doing in front of a teacher now, could they?

She had sat at their table in the evening for the last two days, beginning to talk to other houses and interact more with the students. It was fun, they were all very suspicious at first, a teacher sitting at the student tables? It just wasn't done. Hermione had been insistent that it was against the rules but when she pointed out she wasn't an actual Professor but an assistant while studying to pay her way, it had cut the argument off. But she was looking forward to tomorrow, she thought as she finished her food.

Tomorrow was the first day truly free, she had caught up in the grading of the First Year classes, thankfully they were relatively short essays and she had been given strict guidelines on how to mark them. She also had noticed a pattern. Ravenclaw was nearly consistently highest in marks on the homework, they put a lot of effort into their work and generally had evidence and quotes in the essays to back them all up. She definitely knew the older students were helping them with the homework but at the same time, she was fine with that, after all, it showed strength of character to both ask for help with something instead of stumbling through in confusion and it was a good show of character to help those who needed help. Hufflepuff were another good example of this, they had good grades but there were more variations, they put a lot of effort into it but some of the information they supplied was just off the margin in places. Still a good handle of the basics. Slytherin were a strange bunch. the girls seemed to have the strongest application in the theory side of things and the boys seemed to struggle, it had been... interesting to say the least to decipher what Crabbe and Goyle had written. Finally, but not least were Gryffindor, again like Slytherin the division seemed to be down to gender, the boys almost to a whole were doing what felt like the bare minimum, just enough to scrape a non-failing grade and that was it. The girls were putting in effort on their homework but even then they were lacking in some of the basic aspects. The only one that blew it clear out of the water was Hermione but she had a different problem.

She wrote too much.

Her essays were coming in almost double in length to what was asked. Elizabeth had honestly tuned it out after reading up to the length required for the essay, she had covered the topic at hand and then to try and gain extra credit she had covered more obscure and totally irrelevant topics. She brought her thoughts back to the present time, looking at Hermione as she talked animatedly with another Gryffindor, Pavarti if Elizabeth recalled correctly, the twin sister of Padma. "Hermione, can I speak to you after dinner?" Elizabeth spoke softly and Hermione looked at her, eyes wide in concern before she steeled herself and nodded her head.

"Looks like little miss know it all is in trouble." Ron half mocked, half teased and Elizabeth turned to him giving him a piercing look.

"No one is in trouble Ron... though you might be if I have to grade one more paper like the last one you handed in." She retorted and Ron turned red, ducking his head. Elizabeth reached over, messing his hair slightly much to his chagrin. "It's fine Ron, I know not everyone is academic, but please could you put a bit more effort into it? I know it's not the most interesting thing but it'll help down the line." She said politely and happily to him. The redness in his face deepened and he nodded his head, not looking her in the eyes.

"Looks like ickle Ronniekins has a bit of a crush on the Queen." Fred... or was it George chimed in.

"Though who could blame him after how she went after Snape, ahh, if only you were here when we first started." The other twin stated wistfully, brushing away a fake tear. "So many things could have been different." He continued jokingly.

"I don't want to talk about that right now." Elizabeth said, blushing at the praise. "But I won't stand for bullies like that." She added carefully, she had taken Bathsheda's words to heart in a way, she wasn't going to go chew him out nor was she going to belittle him in front of the students but she wasn't going to avoid calling a horse a horse. He was a bully and she wouldn't deny that.

"It's a shame you weren't there during our class." Ron muttered and Elizabeth looked at him. "I lost ten points for 'breathing heavily' and Susan Bones lost five for talking to her partner about the potion they were making." Ron explained and Elizabeth frowned, it looked to her that Snape was taking out his aggression elsewhere instead of on Harry at the moment.

"My schedule changes week to week, I'm more with the Ravenclaw classes at the moment but next week I'm in more Hufflepuff classes." She explained, it was a simple attempt to balance who she was interacting with.

"When are you going to be with Gryffindor?" Hermione asked curiously, she had mixed feelings about the woman, she had spoken against books that she had read, dismissing them without reading what they had said but she was a person in a position of authority and seemed to have a level head on her.

"I'm going to be with your schedule in a couple of weeks, it's going to be interesting." She said with a smile. Dinner continued with idle chatter and Elizabeth sat listening to it, adding her own thoughts in if she was asked but otherwise content to just sit and listen. She learnt a few interesting things about the Weasleys that evening and her mind went back to the letter that she had received the night before from Narcissa Malfoy.

 _It is not that we are against Muggleborns and Half-bloods._

The letter had started after the usual pleasantries that were exchanged with letters. Everything she had heard when the Malfoy family was mentioned was that Dark Magic and Evil actions followed them as a black cloud over their head. The intense hatred that was alleged to follow them against the Muggleborns and Half-bloods but so far she had yet to see any of that in the Malfoy heir.

 _The division has always been there, tradition and old families having more powers than those who were new to the wizarding world._

Elizabeth had thought about that; the Magical World was very Victorian in its attitude to the world which did have a focus on Nobility and an Upper-Class society and then the people on the rungs below. It was those with money making the rules and keeping themselves in power. It was an inherently corrupt philosophy that created nothing but animosity and hatred, it had happened in the past, it would happen again. It always happened. You could not oppress a whole sect of people without the chance that they would stand up and say that enough was enough. The Vox had proven that with Columbia, nearly burning it all to the ground in their effort to fight the people who had oppressed them.

The fact that they had started after Elizabeth even before they had claimed Columbia just because of who she was had been enough to prove that they were less trying to be freedom fighters and more trying to just fight for the sake of fighting. She closed her eyes, sighing as she remembered it, so much death, so many innocents caught in the crossfire.

 _The problem arose when they refused to learn the culture that they were moving into._

Again, it was something that Elizabeth could understand from a certain point of view, a large group of people who were essentially migrating into a new society who refused to adapt to a locations custom. That would be seen not only as disrespectful and downright rude but it would also be one of the most dangerous situations that could come about, a large group that felt threatened by a new force would not be willing to stand by and let them get away with trying to tear out the very foundation that they had built from underneath them.

 _With the lack of a Culture class in the school, they think they have no need to learn how the Wizarding World works. I will not lie and claim there is no bias because there is. It is how all societies have worked and most probably will work for the future generations, there will always be bias created by those in a position of power to further empower their associates and those that fall in their social structure. But this dissention brings hatred and with hatred it brings conflict._

A conflict that killed hundreds of wizards and witches, wiped out entire magical families and killed who knows how many non-magical people. Elizabeth could tell the pain that had been brought about by that conflict, it lingered now, eleven years later and the underlying tension was there for anyone that had any inclination on this to see.

 _The Purebloods, the Old Families were hit just as hard in the war and in the aftermath the power struggle has increased on the political scale, the Half-bloods and the Muggleborns along with some more of what would be dubbed as the 'Light' side of the wizarding world are trying to change too much, too fast without any thought as to the instability that they would bring. With this brings more animosity and yet another cycle of hatred._

Narcissa had laid it on in the explanation, the fact that she could see the cycle that was happening, a war with a quiet aftermath that started almost immediately bringing in the hatred for the next cycle. Something was going to come up about this but the question was what and by who.

 _The Dark Lord did many repulsive actions there is no denying that but at the same time, he controlled a lot of the old families, ones whose powers and influence had waned over the years, bringing them under the thumb with either promises of reform and dominance over the Half-bloods and the Muggleborns but they were not the only ones that made up his ranks. He also had people of both kinds in his group, his Pureblood rhetoric was more for the masses to rally behind but he valued Magical Power and initiative. He had a way with words that could cause doubt to anyone who stood against him. And those that did, either ended up dead or under his control through magical means._

The books hadn't mentioned anything about that. Elizabeth wracked her brain trying to think of how the books had not covered Muggleborn and Half-blood wizards and witches joining Voldemort, but there was the old saying, History was written by the winners and didn't they win the conflict? She knew that the history would say whatever they had wanted to be told as the truth because their one main opposition was in hiding and anyone that spoke against it would show that they were not on the 'right' side of the conflict.

 _There are families like the Weasleys, once noble and well respected that had fallen on hard times financially have always been a light sided family but until this most recent situation they were still Pureblood. Now their beliefs have switched and they are focusing on being more inclined to push pro Muggleborn agendas without thinking of the effects that it will bring. In recent years Muggles have created weapons that are able to kill Millions in the blink of an eye. They have in the last one hundred years fought in two wars that left the death toll in the millions! combined, their battles have taken more lives than the wizarding world has population. This is why we are concerned about the Muggles learning about our world through their children, this is why we press more to stop the increasing influence. The balance that exists could shift so dramatically and it could cause something so damaging and so chaotic that it could end the Wizarding World._

There was an honesty in that statement. Elizabeth couldn't deny that in the slightest, she knew that people would take advantage of something if they could. They could cause conflicts that would destroy anything. The fear was real and there was a basis in history for it. The Salem Witch Trials were a prime example of it. People burnt at the stake for crimes of being a Witch. It was likely that it would happen again if they found the truth, if they didn't try to force them to do their bidding. It was probably for the best at least for now to keep the worlds separate.

 _With your permission, I would like to investigate into your family, I mean this as no disrespect but I am curious about how the American Wizarding Society has changed and I am curious as to whether or not we can find any traces of your family._

This was the million-dollar question and statement. Did she let Narcissa look into her history? It wouldn't add up if she did, there was gaps stemming from her disappearance and there was also the fact that she wasn't from here. The evidence that she found could be damaging if she wasn't careful. With these thoughts though, dinner finished, the food disappearing and the students were moving to head off and do their own things before the Curfew set in. Elizabeth looked at Hermione, "Shall we have our little talk?" Elizabeth asked kindly as the two stood, walking with the masses and breaking away from the group on the first floor into an unused classroom.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Hermione asked hesitantly as Elizabeth sat on the edge of the Teacher's desk, looking around at the dust that layered the room. This was an old classroom, one that hadn't seen use in a very long time, she wondered what it had been used for before.

"I need to talk to you about your homework... and something else." She said bringing her attention back to the fuzzy haired girl.

"My homework?" She asked, wide eyed. "Is something wrong with it? I can redo it! I can do it better." She spoke quickly almost pleadingly and Elizabeth held her hand up to stop the girl from panicking.

"No Hermione, it's not that, far from it in fact, your writing has been fantastic, the effort you've put into it has been excellent and you've shown an understanding that surprises me." Elizabeth spoke, avoiding mentioning the fact that if it wasn't for the fact she had the answer guidelines to use for the homework she'd probably be completely lost with it. "The only problem is the quantity of it." She spoke softly. "It pains me to say this, because I don't want to make you sad, I don't want you to lose hope and give up on what you're doing but I need you to understand something." She pushed off the desk, walking forward and kneeling in front of Hermione, bringing herself down to a more even height. "You need to cut back on it slightly, the ones you've handed in are almost double the requested work that has been assigned. This isn't bad in a way, you show your knowledge and you cite sources. But it's too much with unneeded excess information. That can be used against you in grading. Diverging off topic to things that haven't been covered could come back to give you negative marks." She paused, trying to think of a joke to break the tension but the only one she could think of would make Elizabeth sound lazy. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" She asked and Hermione nodded slowly.

"I'll try and cut back on how much I write... I just wanted to make sure I covered everything," she spoke quietly and Elizabeth smiled.

"That's fine sweetie, but make sure you stay focused, it's the only thing I can really say against anything you write, you're currently the top at every bit of homework you've handed in." Elizabeth comforted, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "But tell me something Hermione, are you happy here?" Elizabeth asked and Hermione looked confused. "I was asked to speak to you about this by Professor Sprout, she noticed you don't seem to be interacting much with the other students." Hermione let her shoulders slump in resignation as she heard this. Was she that transparent?

"I thought things here would be different." Hermione said sadly.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Elizabeth asked patiently.

"No one likes me, you heard Ron at Dinner, he's the only one that speaks so loudly and publicly but he's always calling me a Know It All because I answer questions and know the work and do the work. The others avoid me or barely talk to me but I hear the whispers." She said, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she begun recounting everything she heard. Elizabeth, still kneeling in front of Hermione pulled her into a hug as the girl broke down into tears.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Elizabeth asked, rubbing Hermione's back soothingly as she continued to cry.

"Because no one would listen, no one cares. I'm just a Muggleborn bookworm." Hermione choked out and Elizabeth pulled her back to look her in the eyes.

"Hermione Granger, don't talk about yourself that way. If you need someone to talk to, find me." She said and Hermione stared at her in surprise. "What you're doing is admirable, why you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw with how much you want to know things I have no idea. You'd fit in so well with them." She explained and Hermione ducked her head. It was one thing that she had wondered over the month that she had observed the first years. Hermione was brilliant with a mind for facts and details, even if she did lack the ability to put it into practice in regards to social skills. But there had to be a reason that she was in Gryffindor surely? It's not like the hat would just put her into a house that she was completely unsuited for just because she asked… though that in and of itself showed a form of bravery, to go against what your perceived nature is.

"I demanded Gryffindor... I heard that Dumbledore had been in there and wanted to be sorted there as well. It tried to talk me out of it." Hermione admitted and Elizabeth nodded her head in understanding.

"You look up to him, don't you?"

"How can I not? he's the leader of the light." Hermione said excitedly. "He's done so much for the Wizarding World, he defeated Grindelwald, he's always working to improve Muggleborn and Half-blood rights in the Wizengamot." Hermione declared and Elizabeth smiled again.

"I haven't had much chance to talk with him yet. He's always busy in his office." Elizabeth admitted and then turned serious again as she looked at Hermione. "Promise me Hermione, if you feel things are getting too hard to handle, you'll come and find me, speak to me and I'll help you. You don't have to worry about me running off to the other professors to deal with the situation, you won't have to worry about me punishing them unless you want me to." She suggested. "You can't keep this bottled up, it'll break out and with magic, that could happen in a number of different ways... I think... possibly, I haven't fully read into that yet." She admitted and Hermione laughed, hiccupping slightly as she tried to get her tears under control. "Is that a promise?" She asked and the girl nodded.

"I promise." Hermione muttered and Elizabeth stood back up.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She said comfortingly, leading Hermione out of the room, making their way to the nearest girl's bathroom. "So you must be looking forward to the flying lesson tomorrow." Elizabeth said happily, trying to cheer the girl up, it was Elizabeth's day off because the classes were an all-day thing, half of it taken up by Gryffindor and Slytherin, the other half taken by Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and she had thankfully not been required to attend the lesson. She had been toying with going to watch but decided against it for now. If she went, no doubt they'd try and rope her into trying to fly. Tempting but she was starting to like having her feet on solid ground.

"Not really... I'm scared I'll fall. And we have the Slytherin's and they'll no doubt try something. Malfoy keeps trying to make fun of me when he sees me." Hermione said and Elizabeth frowned slightly. She wasn't the first that Elizabeth had heard about Malfoy mocking but he was always quiet or polite when she was around. She'd have a talk with him later, without naming any names and see what he had to say. She snapped at Snape, a child was not going to scare her. She had faced down a war and no child was going to suffer if she could help it.

Harry woke the next morning, eager to start his day, he had Flying today, he was looking forward to it more than almost anything in the magical world. He had to wait till the afternoon but until that time he was free to do what he wanted to do. He walked out of the dorm, heading down to breakfast, making his way towards a different table, not completely ignoring the Ravenclaws, he waved at his friends as he walked by and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked, looking at the red headed first year that was sitting near the end of the table talking to a blonde-haired girl.

"Sure, we don't mind." They said after a moment's thought, smiling at him as he sat opposite them.

"If I remember correctly its Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot, isn't it?" Harry questioned and they nodded. "Looking forward to Flying later?" Harry asked as he started helping himself to breakfast.

"I am, Susan's not, she's never liked flying." Hannah spoke with a smirk at the other girl.

"Oh? I'm sensing a story here." Harry said jokingly and Susan looked at Hannah.

"Don't you dare." Susan said with a warning edge to her tone. "Don't you dare tell him." She repeated and Hannah laughed.

"I'm sorry Harry, I'm sworn to secrecy on that." She said and Harry nodded his head in acceptance.

"Fine, fine, I know when not to push. But still, I'm looking forward to it, never flown before but that feeling of freedom people must get has to be nice." Harry spoke wistfully, his thoughts drifting towards the future and the lesson. He was feeling slightly nervous, the fact that he had never flown before was gnawing at the back of his mind but he didn't want to dwell on it. Stay positive, with the Hufflepuffs there he wasn't going to get mocked about it like he would if he had been with the Slytherins.

Mentioning the Slytherins he could hear Draco talking up his flying skills to anyone that would listen. "I've always been a good flyer, I remember when I was eight, I ended up going a bit far out and had to flee as I was chased by a Muggle Helicopter, I almost hit it when it came out of nowhere." Draco bragged, continuing on about how he was chased for miles as he tried to get away from it.

"If that's true, you're not really that observant." Another Hufflepuff first year called out, Ernie MacMillan if Harry remembered correctly criticized. "Muggle Helicopters are not only big they're loud. You should have heard it long before you saw it. And do you really want to admit to breaking the statue of Secrecy in front of so many witnesses?" He followed up and Draco, caught flat footed, closed his mouth and sat down to continue eating to the snickers of some of the students.

"The joys of bragging. He reminds me of my cousin in a way." Harry said, his head tilting as he thought about Dudley with Draco's blonde hair... and then pictured Draco with Dudley's body mass. Both thoughts were amusing to him as he chuckled.

"I think he's crazy." Hannah stage whispered to Susan, the two girls giggling as he was brought out of his thoughts.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing Harry." The two said simultaneously, "so what brings you to the Hufflepuff Table?"

"I'm taking a page from Elizabeth's book." He said, gesturing over to the Gryffindor table where Elizabeth was sitting again, talking to a couple of older girls about something that he couldn't quite make out. "I want to meet people, to talk about things I don't know and learn new things. How can I do that if I talk to the same people every day?" He asked as he looked around the table. "Like Ernie," he started, the boy in question looking at Harry in confusion, "I know his name, I know nothing about him, Ernie, what do your parents do?" He asked a random question, truthfully the first one that came to mind.

"My Dad works with the company that supplies Butter beer to the UK. He's a researcher there." Ernie explained with a smile. "My mum chose to stay at home instead of working, looking after my kid sister." He explained and Harry turned back to Susan.

"See this is what I mean, I've not only learnt something new, but two new things." He said cheekily, "well actually three come to think of it. But I wanted to talk to others, since Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw don't really have any classes together I just wanted to meet some of you." He finished.

"Well you're welcome to the Hufflepuff table anytime Harry." Susan said politely. "What do you have planned for the morning?" She asked and Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven't got anything planned, I was thinking of going to the Library but I'm up to date on my homework so I don't have anything in particular I need to look at." Harry explained, rambling slightly as he did.

"So in other words, no plans." Susan teased.

"That's what I said wasn't it?" He asked and rolled his eyes.

"We're going to take a walk around the grounds, the weathers only going to get worse and we haven't had the chance to look around properly yet. Want to join us?" Hannah asked and Harry nodded his head.

"Sure, it's something to do." Harry responded politely and the breakfast passed into polite chatter about the work they had been doing for the past month. With breakfast finished, they stood up and made their way out onto the School grounds, walking in a direction that was chosen purely by random they wandered, making sure to keep an eye on both the time and that they didn't go out of bounds. "So what do your parents do?" Harry asked, going with the same question he had asked Ernie. It was normally a relatively safe question but the looks that were shared between the two girls he realised that he had hit a sore spot. "I'm sorry if the question was something painful."

"It's fine, you couldn't know, I mean how could you, not raised in the Magical World." Susan spoke, slightly tense as she did. "My parent's died during the last war with You-Know-Who." Susan explained, her voice going quiet as she thought about it. "I don't really remember much about it. Just that they were killed in Diagon Alley. I live with my Aunt," Susan told Harry, smiling as she thought about her aunt. "Amelia Bones, head of the department of Law Enforcement in the Ministry, so many people are scared of her reputation but she's a really nice person." Susan explained and Harry nodded his head in agreement, well as much as he could agree without having actually met the woman.

"My mum works at St Mungo's." Hannah said, chiming into the conversation. "She's a Mediwitch there." She pointed out and seeing Harry's confused look, "St Mungo's is the Magical Hospital for the UK, there are smaller places that's help treat Wizards and Witches but with any serious problem, you go there." The three continued their walk, with Hannah telling Harry about some of the more unique cases that her mother had dealt with. Including a man whose spell had backfired and left him growing shrubbery out of his ears. Magical Maladies could definitely be interesting. They continued talking for a little while walking around the lake and making their way back in to the school, heading to their separate house tables, Harry dropping into a seat next to Terry who gave him a mocking look of betrayal.

"The Hufflepuff in the guise of a Ravenclaw, so nice of you to re-join us." He teased and Harry laughed, shoving him slightly as he poured himself a drink, "ready for flying lessons?" He asked.

"I'm ready, slightly nervous though, never been on a broom before, the only one I've ever used has been to sweep." He explained and Terry nodded in understanding.

"Maybe so, but you don't have much to worry about, you're not going to be held to any standards, Neville is a pureblood but he didn't do too well in his lesson." Terry reasoned.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard the Gryffindors talking about it... and the Slytherins laughing about it. Neville apparently fell off his broom, breaking his wrist. Poor guy, just doesn't seem to catch a break."

"So that's what they're sniggering about." Su Li muttered looking over at the Slytherin table to see them laughing about something, Draco and Blaize making grand gestures but keeping their voices down. "I suppose it's good we're with the Hufflepuffs, they probably won't mock us if we mess up." She said and Harry quietly agreed. A new, greater sense of dread sinking in. If someone who had been raised around magic could fall off and injure himself, then surely anyone could. He pushed the thought away, he wasn't going to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy by working himself into a panic. If it happened, it happened, he'd deal with it when he was there.

For now, focus on the more positive thing.

He was about to do what every book and movie in the muggle world tried to point out was a cliché, he was going to fly on a magical broomstick.

Elizabeth sat in Flitwick's office, the two talking about how she was coping with everything so far. "It's not been a problem so far; I'm learning the magic easily enough and heaven knows I'm having the theory drilled into me with every homework assignment I mark." She said, taking a sip of her cup of tea, looking out the window which gave a clear view of the Flying area. She was avoiding going down in case she had to participate, but she was enjoying watching the students in action. Many of them did seem quite talented though her heart nearly jumped out of her chest with shock at the sight of Neville falling but Flitwick had assured her that Madam Hooch would be able to take care of the situation and any injury could be fixed quickly in the Medical Wing.

"I can assure you, it'll pick up in the coming months." Flitwick forewarned and Elizabeth smiled.

"At the moment it's only one year that I'm having to deal with, it's been quite easy, the lot of them are quite consistent in their work, some more on a negative but they're still consistent, the only one I've had to speak to though has been Hermione." She said and that got a raised eyebrow from Flitwick.

"Miss Granger? I'm surprised at that; she seems like she knows what she is doing." Flitwick commented.

"She does know, she knows it very well, don't take me the wrong way, her work is probably the best of the bunch, she just does too much." Elizabeth explained and Flitwick chuckled as he begun to understand the situation.

"Yes, her work is a bit above what everyone else hands in. I hope you didn't crush her drive though." He added seriously and Elizabeth quickly shook her head, her hair flicking in front of her face slightly as she did. She brushed her hair back, readjusting the hair tie that she used to tie it back.

"No, not at all, I tried to encourage her but I also reminded her that there were limits, she could be marked down in the future for going completely over the target if she's not careful. Sometimes there is too much of a good thing." She explained and Flitwick nodded.

"That's good, she has her heart in the right place." He agreed, looking out the window to see how the Ravenclaw flying lesson was going. Elizabeth followed his gaze. "Oh my." He squeaked in surprise jumping up and dashing for the door, Elizabeth following after.

Harry and the group had been having a good lesson so far, things had gone smoothly and they were now practicing flying in the air and performing laps around the lake, he may have been going a bit faster than the others, but the freedom to be in the air just felt so right to him. Madam Hooch had even commented that if she hadn't known any better than she was sure he was lying about being on a broom for the first time today.

Harry drifted away from the class, gravitating towards the Quidditch pitch, his mind bringing up day dreams of playing in front of everyone, hearing the crowd chanting his name as he won. His day dreams were cut short though at the sounds of scared shouting trying to get his attention.

"LOOK OUT THE BLUDGER IS LOOSE!" A voice shouted and Harry snapped to attention, looking in the direction of the shout, a large black ball flying straight at him. With instinct he twisted on the broom, spinning it around, the bludger shooting over him and continuing on the way. He looked around as the person who had shouted quickly rushed by him and headed towards the area he had drifted from.

It was heading straight to the flying lesson.

Harry twisted the broom around, urging it to head straight for the class, he didn't know if he could do anything to help but he wasn't going to let someone get hurt if he could avoid it. He could already hear panicked sounds, he leant forwards urging the broom to go faster. He could see Madam Hooch trying to usher students to the ground, some of them already moving but others slow to react. The other student, the one who had warned him had already arrived and was doing his best to keep the bludger away. Harry arrived, Susan was on her way down as the Bludger veered past the older student, aiming at her. She turned, trying to move out the way and that stopped her from being hit,

But not her broom. The Bludger smashed through the front of it breaking it and sending her spinning. The girl who was already nervous on the broom screamed as she lost her grip, slipping off the broom. Harry dropped into a dive, reaching for her hand as she fell, she saw him coming her hand brushing against his as he pushed forward, sliding forwards onto the broom, his hand clasping hers, his other gripping the broom, pulling it up, slowing her decent as much as he could as they neared the ground. He could hear the whizzing of the bludger as it seemed to sense the awkward situation they were in and shot back at them. He looked to the ground, they were almost close enough now, the bludger was closing in and he twisted, still holding onto Susan as he slipped around the broom, holding on from underneath with his legs and one hand, grimacing in pain as he felt something click, his hand that held Susan burning in pain as he struggled to hold on.

They dropped the last bit, the tell-tale sound of the Bludger coming back again, when he was completely defenceless, Harry braced himself knowing it was going to hit him this time with no chance to avoid with how he was hanging to the broom.

"BOMBARDA!" Flitwick shouted from the ground, firing off a spell that hit the Bludger, detonating it, sending fragments of leather in various directions as Harry and Susan landed, Harry letting go of her hand and dropping to the floor, clutching his shoulder.

"Harry." Elizabeth called running over to him and helping him sit up, taking care to support the arm that he was holding. "Are you okay?" She asked in concern as he looked at her and smiled slightly, wincing in pain.

"Ow, that hurt, that really hurt." He muttered looking towards Susan who had gone pale as anything.

"I'm so sorry Harry," Susan said moving over to him and kneeling in front of him.

"Why are you apologising?" Harry asked in confusion as Elizabeth continued to examine his shoulder. "It's not like you released the bludger." He added and then smiled slyly. "Or did you do it just to have me save you?" He added teasingly and then hissed in pain as he laughed, "bad idea." He cringed, gripping his shoulder again.

"You prat." Susan laughed, leaning forward, messing his hair slightly before hugging him. "Thank you Harry, I owe you." She whispered to him before pulling back.

"You owe me nothing Susan," Harry replied but she just shook her head pushing herself back to her feet and moving away as Flitwick walked over.

"That was very impressive what you did Mr Potter." Flitwick spoke and Harry remained silent. "Your father would be proud as would your mother." He added, not as a dismissal of Harry's mother but to reinforce the fact that they would both have been happy with how he had acted in the crisis. "For saving another student from serious injury at risk to your own health, I award you thirty points." He said and gestured with his wand, a sling appearing around his arm supporting it as Elizabeth helped him get back to his feet.

"Harry!" Terry called, running over to him from where he had been standing along with the majority of the class. "That was incredible what you did, I thought you'd never been on a broom before!" Terry called out, looking at the raven haired boy-who-lived. "That dive, that save, there are professional Quidditch Players that would struggle to make moves like that!" Terry said and Flitwick nodded in agreement.

"You've definitely inherited your father's talent with a broom Mr Potter." Flitwick said happily, "Would you follow me please? I have an idea." He asked and Harry, glancing at Elizabeth nodded his head, following his head of house, keeping a pace that was equivalent to Flitwick's. "The Quidditch teams generally don't do something like this but I've been talking about it for the last several years now. I've always believed that we should have a reserve set of players, Students to train with the House Teams so they can substitute in when players are injured or if the game goes on for too long to let others rest. But we just haven't had those with the ability or the drive to do the training if there has been only a small chance to play. But you have potential, a lot of potential and natural skill." Flitwick continued, praising what he had seen when he had run to the grounds.

Harry followed numbly behind, half listening and half focusing on the pain in his shoulder, knowing it should be quick enough to fix if Flitwick wasn't rushing him to the hospital wing. "You want me to be on the Quidditch Team?" Harry asked and Flitwick looked back and nodded.

"We don't have any open spaces at the moment, but as a reserve you will more than likely get to play and I would like to see Ravenclaw with the Trophy in its hands." He said as they stopped at a door to a classroom, one Harry hadn't been to before. "Wait here a second Mr Potter." He said and knocked on the door.

"Enter." A voice Harry didn't recognise spoke up. Flitwick opened the door and looked in.

"Professor Vector, could I borrow Roger Davies for a few moments." Flitwick spoke and after a confirmation, the teen that he had called for walked out of the room. He looked at the three that were here, Flitwick, his head of House, the new Assistant Elizabeth who was busy watching Harry like a hawk, concern obvious on her features and Harry Potter, his arm currently in a sling looking pained but excited about something.

"What do you need Professor?" He asked respectfully and Flitwick gestured to Harry.

"I have found you a reserve Seeker." Flitwick spoke and Roger Davies looked confused.

"A reserve seeker?" He asked looking at Harry. "I mean he is the right build for it but why a reserve Seeker?"

"As a first year he's technically not allowed to own a broom and I know that the team has already recruited for the new year. I do not wish to take Ms Chang's position away from her that she earned. I witnessed Mr Potter save the life of another student after a bludger escaped and almost injured several students out on their first flying lesson." He explained, a look of shock on Rogers face at the potential disaster that had happened made the teen re-evaluate Harry. "After performing a successful dive he managed to not only avoid the bludger but also managed to do this while holding onto Ms Bones from Hufflepuff." Flitwick explained and Roger nodded.

"Good spatial awareness and grip, but he'd need a better broom than one of the school brooms." Roger said a pensive look on his face as he studied Harry again.

"This is all well and good, but can we get Harry to the Hospital Wing so we can get his shoulder fixed." Elizabeth questioned abruptly, stopping the sport talk. "I swear, it doesn't ever change, men and their sports." She muttered in amusement as Flitwick and Roger had the decency to look chastised.

"Yes, yes. You're quite right Miss DeWitt." Flitwick quickly agreed, "take Harry to the Hospital Wing, I need to sort some things out." He turned to Roger and nodded a dismissal. "Thank you Mr Davies, you may return to your class." He said and Roger turned, walking back into the classroom.

Elizabeth gently placed her hand on Harry's good shoulder and started to steer him away from Flitwick before another conversation could happen. "You did well Harry, I'm proud of you." She said giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "How have you been doing the last couple of weeks? We haven't had much time to talk recently." She said and Harry looked away slightly. During the first few weeks here, they had talked pretty much every other night, Harry sitting in her room working on his own homework, making sure to keep away from the check sheet, he didn't want to be accused of cheating and they'd just talk about the School mainly, a few of the secret passages that they had found the people they had met and just in general the fact that they were pretty much the first friend each other had in this area. But in the last couple of weeks, with both of them expanding their circle of friends and talking to people in other houses, they hadn't had much chance to talk about anything.

"I've been good; I don't know if it's just because I've been doing so much reading but things have just been really easy." He admitted, idly wondering if things would have been different if he had been sorted into another house. "The work just isn't challenging." He again admitted, the work that he had been given was normally just done in the lesson, he found the spells came easily and the actual theory work while a bit more difficult because he hated writing with quills, was still getting easier because of the help that the older years were willing to give if asked. He tried to avoid doing that though because he wanted it to be all his own work, to be able to look at the high grade and know that he had got it himself.

"Well... if it's that easy, perhaps I'll have them give you more." She mused aloud and Harry mock glared at her. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, though Flitwick did say the work load was going to get harder now you're all settled in." Elizabeth pointed out, the two entering the Hospital Wing. "Madam Pomfrey?" She called out.

"Yes Miss DeWitt? Another potions accident?" She called out as the Hospital Matron walked out of her office at the back of the room. "Oh, Mr Potter." She said in surprise, seeing Harry standing next to Elizabeth with his arm in a sling "What have you done?" She asked, heading over, wand already drawn to run a diagnostic spell.

"Saved another student from a fall." Elizabeth explained briefly and explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey.

"This isn't the first time an incident like this has happened in the First Year flying lesson. Why they don't forbid Quidditch Practice during this time I have no idea." Pomfrey muttered beginning to cast a simple healing spell. "It's just a small injury, we'll have that healed in a moment." She comforted and continued working. "You were lucky that it's only something so easy to fix. Honestly, a bludger in the First Years flying lessons." She criticized under her breath and finished her spell work. "There, take off the sling and tell me how you feel." She ordered and Harry did so, relieved to feel no pain.

"It feels as good as new." Harry admitted and she nodded her head.

"I don't see any reason for you to stay this time Mr Potter with something so minor, but would you do me a favour and make sure you don't make a habit out of getting injured." She finished with a small smile and Harry quickly nodded.

"I'll do my best." Harry said, standing slightly more at attention.

"Now off with you." She shooed and then looked at Elizabeth. "You seem a bit pale Elizabeth." She noted looking at the girl who was distracted by something.

"Huh? Oh, no I'm fine Madam Pomfrey." Elizabeth said, bringing her thoughts back to the present, she looked at Harry and smiled. "Harry, you can head back to wherever you want, I'm sure the others want to talk to you. Especially about the news you have for them." She said and Harry waved his goodbye before exiting the Hospital Wing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Pomfrey said suspiciously but Elizabeth just waved off the question.

"I'm fine, really. Just a bit lost in thought. A letter I received has been on the back of my mind recently and I'm not sure how to respond to it." Elizabeth explained vaguely and Pomfrey nodded in understanding.

"If you need someone to talk to, I assure you that I will treat it with the confidence that I treat my patients with." The Matron offered kindly and Elizabeth smiled, nodding her head once.

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey, I may take you up on that offer in the future." She said politely and turned to leave, walking into the corridor and heading towards her room. While she had been in the Hospital Wing, her mind had drifted to the letter from Narcissa, the request to investigate her family again bore on her mind. Was there any out there? did she have any... well most likely grand nieces and nephews at this point. But the question had gnawed at her.

What happened with the DeWitt line? Curiosity was getting the better of her, feelings and attachments that she had thought long since gone were coming back and part of her wanted to truly know, what happened to the DeWitt line in this timeline.

It was decided, she'd get Narcissa to look into it. For good or for bad, she'd find answers.

Halloween was something that the Wizarding World celebrated in a way that made many think of some of the other big holidays in the year, there was an energy running through the Castle that was quickly becoming contagious to all but a small few. Those from the families that supported the Dark Lord, had little to celebrate with the destruction of the Dark Lord even after all these years. But it wasn't just the destruction of the Dark Lord that made them celebrate Halloween so excitedly. To the wizarding world it was one of their respected holidays that dated back years, Samhain, but more and more, like in the muggle world it had become more of an excuse to gorge yourself on sweets and in the last ten years it was now largely associated with the fall of Voldemort. There were still the families that followed the traditional aspects of it but their numbers were dwindling.

But that was the evening feast, for now, The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students were in their charms lesson learning the levitation spell. Today they had to practice levitating a feather. Elizabeth had been watching the class in amusement, also joining in on the spell casting, having practiced ahead of time, she found herself being slightly silly, the excitement of the holiday starting to get to her, she had never been involved in anything Halloween related and it was interesting to her how the kids were reacting. And the promise of sugar? There was nothing wrong with that and she was curious as to what kind of sweets they had that would be available.

When you spend the majority of the time locked in a tower with little access to the outside world, you end up deprived of certain things like sweets. And being able to have feather sword fights with other people like she was doing with Harry.

"No Ron, you're saying it wrong," the voice of Hermione cut in and Elizabeth chanced a glance at the two, the last week she had been in a lot of Gryffindor classes and had seen that the two didn't interact well, Ron was not one to be shown up in something, the blatant jealousy he had towards other people was strong and very visible when he interacted with anyone who did better than him. It didn't make him a bad person, he had lived in the shadows of older siblings with a diverse set of personalities, from the chaotic twins to the studious Percy and the apparently 'smoking hot' older brothers that had already graduated. At least that's what some of the other students had said. Ron was trying to make his own way in the world with a family name sitting over his head. Hermione had improved in how she had spoken to people since Elizabeth had words with her and did seem a bit happier but there were times, like this moment where she slipped back into an almost 'I am superior to you so listen to me' attitude. Elizabeth sighed, it was a work in progress that would be sorted eventually but for now, she'd keep doing it until something happened.

"Go on then, you do it if you think you're so good." Ron snapped back irritably and Hermione nodded her head, turning back to the feather that lay flat in front of her.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She called and with a swish and a flick the feather started to rise into the air, shakily at first but as it got higher it started to float a bit easier.

"Excellent Miss Granger, excellent work, five points to Gryffindor." Flitwick praised and applauded her, she beamed under the praise and missed the glowering look that Ron had given her.

"Harry..." Elizabeth started, still watching the two students in concern. "Keep an eye on Hermione and Ron when you finish here would you?" She asked and Harry having seen what had distracted Elizabeth from their little game nodded his head, frowning slightly. Half an hour passed and more and more students had accomplished the spell the feathers floating about the room as the bell rung.

"Okay, no homework today." Flitwick called and resisted the urge to laugh as he heard the cheering from the class, even Elizabeth let out a quiet woo as that meant one less batch of papers to read through. "But don't think this will last," he warned half-heartedly as the groups started pouring out the class.

Harry followed behind Ron, the red head talking to two other Gryffindors that he had become friends with during his time here, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. "Honestly she's a nightmare. it's leviosaaa... not leviosur!" Ron mocked and Harry gritted his teeth. "It's no wonder she has no friends, the know it all... she can't make friends with someone who isn't in a book." Ron continued to insult and someone slammed into the back of Harry, pushing past and into the trio of boys, shooting off around the corner.

"I think she heard you Ron." Dean muttered as he picked up his charms book that had been knocked out of his hand.

"So? Maybe she'll learn the truth." Ron snapped though the signs of embarrassment could be seen as his cheeks and ears started to turn pink.

"Hey Ron." Harry said calmly behind the boy, his right hand closing into a fist and opening repeatedly as the red head turned around.

"Oh Harry! How are -" Ron stopped as Harry punched him in the gut, doubling over in pain as he gasped for breath. Harry followed up pushing Ron against the wall, Ron may have had height on Harry but the punch had stunned him.

"If I ever catch you doing something like that to someone who was trying to HELP you!" He snapped angrily, "I will make you regret it for every moment you're alive." Harry growled as Seamus and Dean grabbed his arms pulling him off of Ron. "How dare you Weasley!" Harry continued as he was held back, a group forming around them as he tried to get out of the grip of the two Gryffindors.

"This doesn't concern you Potter." Ron shouted angrily moving to take a punch at Harry.

"It concerns me when you bully someone else." Harry shouted angrily. He hated bullies, he hated anyone who acted like Dudley had all those years. He shook himself free from the grip of Seamus and Dean who stepped back as Harry glared at Ron.

"What is going on here!?" Elizabeth shouted as the students broke up. She looked between the two standing in the centre of the circle and glanced between the two. "Well?" She said, placing her hands on her hips as she looked between the two.

"What's the point, you're just going to take his side." Ron muttered angrily, he knew the two were good friends and already knew that he was going to get in trouble for this.

"You. What happened here." Elizabeth said, pointing at Neville. The boy glanced nervously between the two, before sighing, not wanting to lie even if it would protect his housemate. Ron had been in the wrong and so had Harry.

"Ron insulted Hermione, she heard him and ran by, I think she was crying." Neville started to explain and the looks that were sent in Ron's direction made him look down at the ground, shuffling his feet in embarrassment. "Harry reacted to it, punching him and threatening him." Neville continued to explain and Elizabeth looked at Harry, giving him a look of disappointment.

Harry closed his eyes, lowering his head, he knew he had over reacted, he couldn't help it though, Ron had gone too far with what he had said. "Continue Neville." Elizabeth ordered, bringing her attention back to the boy who was retelling the information.

"Harry was pulled off of Ron by Dean and Seamus and that's where you came in." Neville finished nervously and Elizabeth looked around at the others to see they were nodding their head in agreement.

"Fine, if that's what happened, Detention Harry, with Filch this evening." She said sternly, not even looking at him before focusing on Ron. "Detention for you as well Ron. With me, this evening." She continued and then turned to look at the rest of the students. "The rest of you get out of here now." She ordered and like lightning they were gone. "And here I was looking forward to going to the feast tonight." She muttered in annoyance. "Ron, be at Professor McGonagall's office for Six, I will meet you there." She dismissed him and he stormed off. "Harry. You will have your detention at 8pm." She ordered before walking off, not even glancing at him as she headed down the corridor.

She had asked him to keep watch on Ron, not get into a confrontation. Now she had to find Hermione to make sure she was okay.

"Miss DeWitt, pleasure to meet you again." A voice spoke and Elizabeth grimaced as Marcus Flint turned up again. Since he had first introduced himself, he had been loitering around in an attempt to talk to her. It wouldn't have been as bad if he had just tried talking like a normal person yet he always came off so slimy. "I am impressed with how you dealt with those two troublemakers." Flint commented as she turned to face him. He was leaning against the wall in an adjoining corridor.

"Now is not the time Mr Flint." She said seriously, trying to get rid of him.

"True, you do have to prepare for a detention now, don't you?" He said with a laugh and the look that she had given him turned into a glare.

"I'm busy Mr Flint... What. Do. You. Want?" She snapped out and Flint held his hands up in a calming gesture.

"There is a Hogsmeade Weekend next weekend, I was wondering if you would like to join me?" He asked and Elizabeth's glare turned into a frown. She was trying to be polite with the rejections and the telling him to go away but he didn't seem to take a hint.

"I haven't yet had the chance to visit the village." Elizabeth gave the half-truth, she hadn't visited it properly but Bathsheda had taken her and Harry to the Three Broomsticks before the School Year had begun.

"Then perhaps I can offer to show you around the town then?" He suggested and she sighed.

"I will think about it and let you know. Now, as I said I have something I need to do so good day Mr Flint." She finished and walked off, the annoyance gathering with each step as she walked away from the blatantly smirking Flint. It made her skin crawl, but she'd be polite. At least for now.

Six in the evening and Elizabeth now stood in the hallway outside of McGonagall's office as Ron walked around the corner. "You made it on time, good." She said simply, pushing open the door to the classroom that was opposite the office. "Take a seat." She ordered and Ron did so. "I don't want to do this Ron, you're a good person." She spoke Honestly, Ron focusing on his desk in front of him. "I know it feels like she publicly embarrassed you by performing the spell but she really was just trying to help you." Elizabeth explained and Ron looked up at her, glaring.

"I didn't ask for her help." Ron spat out and Elizabeth shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, you could have taken it the way it was meant, she wanted to help," Elizabeth repeated and Ron snorted derisively.

"She didn't want to help, she wanted to prove how superior she was to the rest of us." Ron retorted.

"Do you truly believe that?"

"Yes."

"Let me tell you something about Hermione, something that may make it a bit more obvious as to why she doesn't 'have any friends' like you said." Elizabeth started, leaning, back against the edge of the desk. "Hermione is someone who was shy when she was young, she spent her time reading and because of that she was seen as different, I don't doubt any accidental magic that she used also scared off anyone close to her. So she focused on her learning, become the best that she could be so people would like her for being so smart." Elizabeth started to explain, watching Ron's reactions as she talked. "Except you can't learn social interaction through a book." She paused, knowing all too well the truth behind that fact. "So she alienated people, she had facts but no way to talk and interact with others except by sounding bossy and 'all knowing' in her actions. It's not what she wants regardless of how much she may claim to be okay with not having friends because she's happy with her books, she isn't." She paused again, isolation away from your feelings and all social interaction never worked. "Trust me on this, she is alone and sad, she's learning, it takes time, have you not seen the changes she's made over the last few weeks?" Elizabeth asked and slowly Ron nodded his head. She had been less forceful and rude when interacting with others in that time but there was still something about her that seemed to slip into the bossy attitude. "She's learning Ron, give her time and you could find a great friend." Elizabeth smiled and then pushed off of the desk. "Right, let's get this detention underway. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here, I normally send people off to other people. I just wanted to talk to you." She admitted with a slightly sheepish smile. "Write lines, that sounds like something I've read." She said more to herself than Ron who grimaced at that thought. "One hundred lines, something simple, 'I will look at the action not the personality.' something for you to think about in regards to people." She finished.

Ron had begun to get his parchment and quills out when a silvery phoenix burst into the room.

"Troll in the dungeon, escort Mr Weasley back to his dorm." The voice of Dumbledore called out and Elizabeth looked at Ron.

"What's a troll?" She asked as the colour steadily drained from his face.

"It's a big creature, thick skin and thicker skull." Ron explained and grabbed his bag ready to head back to the room. "Hermione!" He suddenly shouted.

"What about her?" Elizabeth asked in confusion. Surely she would have been at the Halloween Feast?

"She doesn't know; she was crying in the girl's bathroom."

"What? Oh God. Ron, return to your dorm I'll get her and head back with her." Elizabeth ordered, running out the room.

"I'm not going to abandon her, it's my fault she's there in the first place." Ron called, chasing after her.

"Just do what I say!" She shouted running along the hallway, the red head struggling to keep up with her.

"No, I'm not leaving her." Ron shouted as they skidded around the corner, halting as they ran into a wall of smell.

"Oh what's that smell?" Ron asked looking at Elizabeth.

"I think it belongs to that." Elizabeth replied weakly, pointing up at the troll. "It's huge." She said in awe, trying to will herself to move. She had faced flame wielding Firemen, she had faced Handymen, she had faced the Mechanised Patriots. She could do this. "It's going into that room... perhaps we could lock it in and get someone up here." She suggested, the two moving quietly to get closer as it ducked through the doorway. "Now!" Elizabeth called, jumping forwards pulling the door shut and locking it. "Well that was easier than I thought." She muttered in disbelief.

"What room did we just shut it in?" Ron asked slowly, a dawning realisation hitting both of them as a scream tore through the air. "Hermione!" Ron called again, unlocking the door and throwing it open, running into the bathroom that was already damaged, the troll swinging its club wildly to get at Hermione. Ron picked up several fragments throwing them at the Troll. "Leave her alone you ugly brute." He shouted, bits of pipe and wood hitting the troll.

"It's barely feeling it." Elizabeth said already knowing what she would have to do as it swung its club again, destroying more of the stalls, burying Hermione in bits of rubble. "Ron, what I'm about to do must never be mentioned to anyone." She said and Ron looked at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Promise me you won't mention this." She said again and he quickly nodded.

"Yes, I promise, just save her." Ron shouted and everything around him changed. Gone was the bathroom, gone was the wreckage, they stood in a field thick black clouds above them, water pouring down from the sky, the rumbling sound of thunder echoing in the air as large forks of lightning shot through the sky. "What is this?" He asked in fear and confusion.

"Stay close to me and you won't get harmed." Elizabeth muttered, focusing intently. The troll was confused, it wasn't smart and it wasn't very observant but even if it knew that something was wrong, from the inside of a large stone building to the middle of a field in a thunderstorm. The Troll was very confused as it looked around. Hermione took the momentary confusion to run, ducking between its legs and diving for Elizabeth.

The Troll turned, roaring angrily because it's prey had escaped it and made to move forwards. "Get us out of here." Ron shouted looking scared at the Troll that walked forwards, lifting its club up.

"Now." She called as a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, hitting the troll, the club exploding, fragments of wood scattering everywhere, the trio brought their hands up covering their faces but several fragments still scratched Elizabeth's face. The Troll fell, it's body twitching from the strike and Elizabeth snapped the tear shut, the body of the troll in the bathroom, the four beings all soaked to the bone. "I thought I timed that wrong." She muttered in relief.

A tear, to a storm, like she had done before in Columbia, she couldn't control the weather but she could time the tear, time it so it opened just before the lightning strike happened. She let out a deep breath, looking at the two students as they heard footsteps coming. Wordlessly, she opened more tears, water spraying out around the room soaking the floor and the walls as pipes continued to spray out water. She needed some way to explain how she had defeated the troll.

"My goodness." McGonagall gasped as she entered the bathroom, the professors had gone to the Dungeons but had been unable to find the troll and had tried retracing its steps, leading them up towards the bathroom. "What happened here?" She asked looking at Elizabeth and the two kids. "Miss DeWitt, why are you here with the students!?" She snapped, concern for the children evident as she spoke.

"I was in the detention with Mr Weasley when I received the message that the Troll was in the building." She replied almost automatically, "I was ready to lead him back to the dorm when he realised that Hermione didn't know about the Troll, still recovering from the... incident, earlier." She continued, a look of guilt flashing across Ron's face. "I told him to return to his common room while I found Hermione but he refused and followed me here to where the Troll had found Hermione." She paused and gestured to all the devastation. "The Troll destroyed the majority of the room, damaging water pipes and I used a combat spell I had been reading about. I zapped the troll, the water enhancing the effect of the spell." She finished and glanced at Snape who stood back, eyeing her with a look of both doubt and curiosity. He didn't believe the story and he knew there had to be something else that happened but he hadn't seen anything to prove it.

"Very well, Mr Weasley, detention tomorrow for disobeying a direct order from those who you are supposed to obey." She said to the Red Head who nodded his head in acceptance. "And Ten points to Gryffindor for your courage in a time of need." She finished. Elizabeth watched with a smile on her face, reaching up and wiping away a bit of blood from the cut on her forehead. "Miss DeWitt, perhaps you could escort these two to the Hospital Wing and get yourself checked out while you're at it." She finished with a nod of dismissal.

"Of course Professor, come along you two." She said tiredly, walking past the Professors and leading them towards the hospital wing.

It looks like things were getting slightly more interesting here after all.

TBC

Yes, I do know that until now I've been writing 'incorrect' descriptions when Elizabeth has been talking about her powers to Harry or Bathsheda but that's because she doesn't want the full extent of the powers known, at least not yet. She will explain more as the need arises.

As I said at the top of the page, I'm going to be really busy this weekend and the next so I won't be uploading a chapter next week. But I didn't want to leave a two week hiatus on my story so I'm uploading this chapter a day early. Hope you enjoyed


	7. Chapter 7: Hogsmeade and Quidditch

**Chapter 7: Hogsmeade and Quidditch**

 _Disclaimer: This is the song that never ends! It goes on and on my friends! If you've seen the previous verse than you shall know, I don't own Harry Potter or Bioshock!_

 _Edited 25/2/2017: Added a bit more to the beginning to try and convey Elizabeths views at the beginning._

Elizabeth DeWitt... Witch extraordinaire.

At least that's what some of the school had taken to referring to her as. She hated the title. It was a lie; it was a title to a fake claim to fame. She was no more an extraordinary Witch, more like an excellent stage magician.

The rumours spread that she had used combat magic to defeat the Troll when she had done nothing of the sort. Both Hermione and Ron had agreed to stay quiet and Harry was suspicious of what had happened though he didn't press for information.

In fact, he didn't speak to her much at the moment.

She thought back to Halloween and how Harry had looked crushed at the disapproving look she had given him. She didn't want to but what he had done had been completely out of line. She couldn't help how she felt about that and now he was avoiding her. "I didn't want that to happen." She said to the reflection in her mirror. "I don't know what to do." She muttered, continuing to brush her hair as she thought about the situation, he had been in the wrong… She had to follow procedure, there were enough people that considered her friendship with Harry as playing favourites and she wasn't going to give them ammunition by not punishing Harry for what he had done. It was done for the right reason but it was too far for the situation, she couldn't let it slide. Shifting her thoughts back to the present as she continued to brush her hair, she was glad she had grown it out, she liked it with the ponytail more than the short hair that she had before. Today was the Hogsmeade Weekend, in the end, she could find no reason as to completely deny the request that Flint had made to join him in Hogsmeade as he had asked politely and had actually backed off after she had said she'd think about it.

Who knows, perhaps he would be more sociable and less like a creep in a more... relaxed environment. She shuddered, already she knew this was a bad idea. A very bad idea but she had agreed and she kept her word wherever possible. She left the room, walking down the corridor, heading towards the Great Hall where she said she'd meet Flint, she looked around, noticing people were watching her again. No doubt Flint had bragged to everyone that he was spending the day with the Assistant. She turned the corner, out of the corner of her eyes she saw Harry looking at her sadly before he turned away, walking off towards the Common Room. Outside of class it had essentially been the same all the way through, if she entered any area he was in, he left. If he ran into her in the corridor, he'd turn around and walk away without saying a word. "Damn it Harry." She muttered under her breath, she wanted to go after him and apologise for making him feel so bad but at the same time, it wasn't her fault! She did what she had to do as set by the rules. She had asked him to keep an eye on things, not punch Ron Weasley. She didn't want to give him detention either for the little fight because part of her agreed with Harry, Ron did deserve punishment for his actions, he had hurt another student and been completely horrible because of it. But she wasn't going to apologise for her actions, she did what she had to do.

She stopped the thoughts again, thinking about the situation as a whole. Could she have been a bit more tactful with her punishment? She had practically called him out in front of his year mates and seemed to contradict herself with what she had asked him to do. Mentally cursing she realised just how it must have looked to him. "I'll try and speak to him after this trip." Elizabeth commented in resignation, knowing that she would have to swallow her pride and probably apologise for the action.

Though the Troll incident was quickly shaping him up. Ron had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Hermione, they still bickered and argued but there was a lot less hostility and it was seemingly more playful than anything else. He was learning and so was she from the experience that they had shared. Neither of them had come to her yet to talk about what had happened, she knew they would soon enough but for now, they were content to keep it quiet. She walked down the stairs to the Entrance Hall, Flint was standing to one side with several other Slytherin students who she thought were seventh years that she didn't know, two women and another guy. "Miss DeWitt." Flint greeted, taking her hand as she walked over and kissing it in greeting. Again, it creeped her out slightly with him lingering a bit longer than he should have but she didn't say anything.

"I think in this situation you can call me Elizabeth." She said politely as he let go.

"Then please, call me Marcus," He said and then pointed towards the other three. "I don't think you've met them yet, this is Byron Miller, that's Sylvia Melville and Gertrude Meads." He introduced, pointing to each of them individually.

"I haven't met them yet, nice to meet you." She admitted and greeted as the four started walking out of the Castle, making the trek towards Hogsmeade, it was largely done in silence and while Elizabeth was more than willing to just walk in quiet she was also not wanting to make too bad of an impression on three who she had just met. "So what subjects are you studying?" She asked, trying to find a topic to talk about as they walked.

"Ugh we're not really going to be talking about school are we?" Sylvia said in a bored tone, Elizabeth shrugged, already she could tell that it was going to be quite a long day if this was how an attempt to start conversation went.

"I was making idle chatter. no one else seemed to want to talk." She said with a slight shrug, more than happy to slip into the quietness that the group seemed to be stewing in. A sideways glance to Flint and she could see the glare he was giving Sylvia.

"Be nice, Sylvia." Gertrude spoke, looking at Elizabeth almost condescendingly. "It must be difficult for someone who spends all their time helping teach the first years to turn off from that work." She continued dismissively and Elizabeth laughed.

"I think you'll find it a lot easier than you think. The last thing any of the Professors wants to talk about when they're off duty is work." Elizabeth retorted before continuing. "I wasn't just asking about classes to ask about work, if you had said what your classes were, I could have asked about interests, about what you want to do in the future, about friends you have in the classes, about hobbies and career options that you want to follow. So many questions and topics can come from a simple question." Elizabeth explained with a smile, listing a few of the possibilities that she could immediately think of that could spin from one question.

"She has a point." Gertrude grudgingly admitted.

"I'm studying Care of Magical Creatures," Bryon started, ignoring the glare that Sylvia gave him and continued talking to Elizabeth. "I've always liked dealing with different creatures and I want to take care of them after leaving here." He explained excitedly.

"Have you dealt with anything dangerous yet?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing too bad yet, I'm not a seventh year yet so I don't get to deal with anything too bad but we have just been studying Acromantula." He said with a slight shudder and a combined eww from both Sylvia and Gertrude.

"Huh, I guess that's what I get for assuming, I thought you were all Seventh Years." She admitted.

"Nope, only Marcus here's a seventh year," he replied, "I'm a fifth year and Sylvia and Gertrude are both Sixth Years." He explained. "I know why they really don't want to talk about class, pretty much because they're in that year between N.E.W.T studies and after O.W.L exams. To not think about what is to come and forget about the amount of hassle." Bryon explained and grimaced thinking about his own exams that were coming for him.

"So much studying, I still feel the cramps in my hand sometimes from the number of notes I took." Sylvia admitted flexing her fingers.

"Yes... notes, that's what it's called now." Gertrude replied and Sylvia gasped at the implication and Elizabeth blushed, her mind picking up what Gertrude was implying.

"Always classy aren't you Gertrude." Marcus mocked as the two girls giggled. "I apologise for those two, though they are both from Pureblood families, they haven't really learnt all the customs and how to act around proper company." Marcus spoke, his voice heavy in politeness.

Watching the interaction in curiosity, Elizabeth waved it off with a small gesture, "it's fine, I don't want people to be treading softly and pretending to be someone they're not while I'm around." She said pointedly, Flint being the main focus of the statement, "besides, don't you feel that so much formality can stifle conversation?" She asked him.

"Tradition and formality is needed to remind people that there are some that are above others in station. To let people, do what they want, when they want, would bring anarchy." Marcus argued back and Elizabeth nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, that's fine in an official capacity, like students to a teacher, employer to employee, but what about now? you're friends aren't you?" Elizabeth questioned, glancing between the four of them. "friends should be free to speak to friends without having to stand on soap boxes to make their speeches about superiority of social standing." Elizabeth pointed out quite forcefully. "Today is one of those situations, four friends showing someone else around town as another friend." Elizabeth continued and there were a couple of nods. "So, Bryon..." She turned back to the youngest of the four. "Acromantula's, judging by the reaction from those two... they're not very nice." She continued, changing the topic immediately and Sylvia snorted in amusement.

"That's only the half of it. Giant spiders with poison that paralyzes a person." Sylvia explained knowingly. "I remember those classes. I hated them, their beady eyes, their hairy spider legs." She shuddered again, Bryon mimicking it as he thought back to his last lesson. "And there's a whole batch of them in the Forbidden Forest." She continued throwing her arms up in exasperation. "If you didn't need an excuse to avoid the place before, there's one big one to go with it." She explained as they walked through the gates, making their way into the town proper.

"So where to head first?" Bryon asked looking at the others, as the youngest he was okay deferring to them for now.

Flint was the first person to speak up, he had needed to come to Hogsmeade today to prepare some final pieces for the Quidditch Match that he was going to be in next weekend. "I need to go to Spintwitches, I need to pick up some new gear for the match." Flint said before looking at the others, specifically Elizabeth. "Unless you need to go somewhere first." He added, deferring politely to Elizabeth.

"I have no idea what there is here other than The Three Broomsticks." Elizabeth said, "with everything else a complete mystery, so show me the sights Tour Guide." She said teasingly as Flint started to lead them to the Quidditch supply store. "You have a match next weekend don't you?" Elizabeth asked Flint.

"I do, against Ravenclaw." He responded, pushing open the door, stepping in and holding it open for Elizabeth and then almost immediately letting it go after she walked in.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Sylvia muttered to Gertrude as she caught the door. Marcus ignored them making his way over to the chaser supplies, Elizabeth calmly walking after.

"I haven't actually seen a Quidditch Game yet." Elizabeth commented looking at all of the gear, "though I've read about it." She continued lifting up a pair of gloves and examining them. "I've heard it can get pretty dangerous."

"Only to those who aren't good at the game." He said smugly as he checked the quality of the gear that he was going to buy. "The Slytherin team has won the cup for the last four years and I plan to make it five this year." He said proudly, finding himself standing a bit straighter as he thought about his team.

"You'll be in for a challenge, Ravenclaw have been practicing a lot so far this year." Elizabeth explained and Flint sneered.

"You're referring to their reserve player aren't you. We already know that Potter is on the team." He responded dismissively.

"I wouldn't dismiss him out of hand, he's good, he's even drawn in a few more to try to form a reserve team for the house." She explained and Flint went to respond before stopping thoughtfully.

"It doesn't matter; the rules specifically state that they aren't allowed to substitute someone into a match if another is injured too badly to play in the game." Flint pointed out, "if they did they'd be disqualified."

"You haven't been keeping up with the announcements have you?" Bryon commented, holding a pair of goalkeeping gloves, "the heads of houses unanimously agreed to waive the rules for all the houses." He explained and Flint turned to him in shock.

"What did you say?" He asked his voice going sterner as he spoke.

"All of the Heads of House agreed, the belief that more people would get the chance to either play or try to join in case they want to pursue a career in Quidditch." Bryon continued with a shrug. "I thought you had known but just hadn't got around to planning any extra try-outs or something." Bryon said heading over the Wizard behind the counter to pay for his purchase.

"They can't do that! it's completely against the rules." Flint cursed out, "it throws everything out of organisation, how are we supposed to plan again people if we don't know who we're going to be facing?" He asked aloud and Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, walking further into the shop to look around a bit more.

"Think of it the same way for them, they can't plan to play around your players the same way, besides, the rule is only in case of injury not just to have random people in each match. Unless of course they really do outperform the main team in practices." Elizabeth explained, examining one of the broomsticks. "Or does the thought of having an easy time against your opponents mean more to you than not having good competition?" She asked calmly, turning back to look at him. The look he gave her was one of disdain but she shrugged it off. She didn't think that an easy path through life was the best thing for this, especially for anyone wanting to try and go professional with their skills.

"We can beat anyone, regardless of how many there are. Slytherin are the best team in the School!" Flint snapped and Elizabeth tilted her head, looking at him curiously.

"Then you won't have any problem proving it next weekend will you?" She asked him and he nodded his head looking determined to prove himself right.

"Will you be cheering for us?" He asked and Elizabeth shook her head quickly.

"While I'm technically meant to have some level of unbiasness." She started, remembering what she had been told by McGonagall in regards to bias in the Professors and their actions towards other houses but she wasn't going to lie, she was biased in regards to this.

"You're going to cheer for Ravenclaw." He finished for her and again she nodded, "All because of Potter." He added in disgust.

"Not entirely, Harry is my friend but I was also sorted when I came here, to see where I would best fit and for a place to stay while I was here. As you can guess I was sorted into Ravenclaw and who would I be to turn my back against my house?" She asked with a smile that Flint grudgingly had to agree with. House loyalty was definitely an important thing to take into account. He turned and paid for his shopping and they exited, "Is there anywhere around here that I can get some new Quills? I've kind of worn out the ones I had," She explained and Bryon pointed out a store down the street.

"Hogsmeade has pretty much everything that Diagon Alley does, the advantage of being the only wizarding village in the UK, there isn't really any other place to go to get items than one of the stores either here of at Diagon Alley." Gertrude explained, leading group towards the store. "still, I wish there was a few more places that we could go." She admitted looking at Elizabeth. "There are places here and there that are Magical that are hidden from the Muggles but the majority of them are individual buildings, there's nothing really in England that we can really go to outside of here or the alley and be who we are."

"To hide in the shadows." Elizabeth spoke slowly, "isn't a way to live at all." She agreed with the girls, two locations that they could be themselves outside of work or small private areas was no way to live. Isolation of the communities was fine but to be contained to just a tiny location to keep safe wasn't a way to live. Part of her could understand the people lashing out at that situation. She didn't agree with it, but part of her could understand. They reached the shop and Elizabeth and Sylvia entered, the other three waiting outside as they went to get whatever bits and pieces they needed. Elizabeth walking straight to the quills, picking up about a dozen of them, already knowing she was going to go through them with ease. "Perhaps I should just start a standing order for them." She said jokingly to Sylvia who barely acknowledged her. "Did I do something to offend you?" Elizabeth asked, so far Sylvia had been standoffish to her and borderline rude and although Elizabeth wasn't that bothered by it because she hadn't asked her to join and she was already proving to be someone that Elizabeth didn't want to associate with.

Sylvia turned to her giving a slight disapproving glare. "as if you don't know." She snapped quietly, trying not to draw attention as she walked over to Elizabeth, pretending to look at the quills as she did.

"I don't actually." Elizabeth replied bluntly, picking up one of the more elegant quills, examining it as she waited for a response.

"Oh of course you don't, how could the pretty new assistant not see what's going on around her. Friends with everyone, associate of the Malfoys, how many people have to fall for you?" She hissed and Elizabeth turned to look at her blinking in surprised confusion.

"Wait... is this about Flint?" She asked and Sylvia glared harder.

"And you can't even call him by his first name! He's sniffing around you like a love lost puppy and you're not even noticing and he still chases." Sylvia almost shouted but kept herself under control with a stern look from the Sales assistant.

"I haven't called him by his first name because I don't have any interest in him. I have repeatedly tried to dissuade the approaches but as you said, he doesn't take no for an answer." Elizabeth responded in annoyance. "The only reason I'm here is because I was curious if in a less formal environment he could be a normal person and not someone so reliant on customs and attitudes that he needs to show in places like Hogwarts. And even then, he's not doing much to change my opinion of him." She finished.

"He's a great man from a great family, you just have no taste." She snapped back in response to Elizabeth, losing her temper.

"A person is shaped by their family but a great family does not guarantee a great child!" Elizabeth responded calmly, "it is their actions that determine if they will be great or mediocre or horrible, so far Flint has proven to be arrogant, insultive and rude, with just a small shade of stalker added to the mix, he has done nothing to dissuade me of these notions and just because you can't see it doesn't make it any less true." Elizabeth finished, turning around and heading over to the counter. "Just these thank you." She said politely to the clerk, as the man counted up and sorted out the price, she glanced back at Sylvia who was still glaring at her before handing the money over to the clerk. "Thank you, have a nice day."

"You too ma'am." The man replied politely as she left the store.

"You took your time to get your quills." Gertrude commented with a hint of amusement.

"I took my time, wanted to make sure I had the best quality quills. I'm going to be going through a lot of them after all." Elizabeth reminded, completely ignoring the fact that Gertrude probably knew that the argument was about to break out between the two in the store. Sylvia stepped out afterwards, a dark look flashing across her face as she looked at Elizabeth before turning back to the others and hiding it behind a facade. _'At least she can hide her feelings when she wants to.'_ Elizabeth thought in amusement as Bryon suggested the group head to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. With no other requests or complaints, they did, walking past another Tea Shop called Madam Puddifoots that Elizabeth was glad Marcus didn't suggest, it just gave off an aura of lovesick sappiness that she really didn't want to be near with this group of people. They entered the bar, the group making their way over to an empty booth, Sylvia and Gertrude sliding in to sit on one side, Flint letting Elizabeth sit down on the inside as he offered to get her a drink and Bryon grabbing a chair from a nearby table, sitting it at the end and sitting down. "Tea please." Elizabeth replied politely as Flint walked off, not bothering to wait to get any orders from anyone else.

"Can I get you two ladies anything?" Bryon asked politely, seeing a look of hurt on Sylvia's face and Gertrude who was still showing a mixture of amusement at how this scene was developing and slight annoyance at the blatant disrespect that Flint was showing the other people he was with.

"Butterbeer for me please." Gertrude responded and then glanced at Sylvia who was still watching after Flint. "Sylvia." Gertrude muttered, gently elbowing her to bring back her focus.

"What?" She snapped out, suddenly realising where she was. "Oh, sorry Bryon, a Butterbeer for me as well." She apologised and he nodded, getting up to head over to the bar as well.

"So Elizabeth, how did you meet the Boy-Who-Lived?" Gertrude asked to make small talk.

"We kind of stumbled across each other," she started vaguely. "Just after I arrived to take the job here, I was with Professor Babbling when she went to introduce Harry to the Wizarding World." She explained with a lie that had some truth, after all she was technically there when Bathsheda had introduced the Magical World but just hadn't been conscious. She mentally cursed herself, she hated lying, she had been lied to for so long and here she was doing the exact same to other people. "I then spent a month living in the same house as him preparing to come here."

"So what's he like?" Gertrude immediately followed up.

"Stubborn and determined, if he sets his mind to something he's going to keep trying until he gets it done. He's a quick learner and definitely fits in with Ravenclaw." Elizabeth commented thoughtfully, wanting to talk a little bit about him but also keep his personal nature private, if they truly wanted to know about him they'd try to talk to him. "But please don't do any of that Boy-Who-Lived title near him. He really hates it." Elizabeth requested and Gertrude looked at her in confusion.

"Hates it? How could he hate it? he's a national hero!" Gertrude responded in shock.

"Would you like to be reminded of the murder of your parent's every time you talk to someone?" Elizabeth asked, "would you like the fact that every day you look in a mirror you see a scar that reminds you that somehow you survived something that killed so many people before you?" She asked and Gertrude opened her mouth to respond several times before stopping herself and nodding her head.

"I see what you mean. That does explain why he's a bit on the quiet side. But what about that fight on Halloween? I heard he attacked the youngest Weasley." Gertrude questioned out of curiosity.

"That situation I think has been sorted. Ron said a few things that were very out of line and Harry reacted. He has a low tolerance to bullies and will step in when he comes across it." She explained with a small bit of pride for her friend, he really was shaping up to be a good person if he was willing to fight for someone that he barely knew when she was in trouble.

"Then he might want to avoid Draco and the Slytherin first year boys." Gertrude added and then cursed herself for speaking so candidly.

"Gertrude!" Sylvia hissed and Elizabeth stayed silent as she watched the two.

"What, you've seen Malfoy in the Common Room acting so smug because of who his father is. He seems to think he's safe from all repercussions, Snape's favourite, his father on the Board of Governors and His mother friends with Elizabeth." Gertrude retorted with a derisive snort. "For a Slytherin he has all the subtlety of a brick."

"I can't say I've seen any of this. The only Slytherin first year that I've seen act so out of sorts was Blaise and even he treads carefully after that potions incident." Elizabeth added to the conversation, thinking about the interactions that Blaise had done since then, he had been subtle and hadn't been caught out with anything. The boy learnt quickly.

"Blaise has a few problems of his own and they have nothing to do with this school." Sylvia commented sending the two girls into a laughing fit.

"I think I'm missing something here." Elizabeth observed glancing between the two.

"What are they laughing about?" Flint spoke as he brought over the two drinks, a cup of tea for Elizabeth and a mug of Butterbeer for himself.

"I don't know... I made a comment about Blaise Zabini and they said something about his own problems and they just started giggling." Elizabeth explained and the two girls started laughing all over again.

"Zabini... his mother, of course." Flint spoke with an amused snort. "She's had seven husbands, each have died in mysterious circumstances and each have left her all the money in their vaults." Flint explained still chuckling.

"His mother is murdering people and you're laughing about it?" Elizabeth said, taken aback by the callousness.

"It's never been proven. Over time it's become a bit of a running joke about who she's going to try and get with next." Flint commented offhandedly.

"That's vile." Elizabeth protested in disgust.

"Well what do you want us to do about it?" Flint asked tersely, not liking the fact that she was judging them.

"There's Truth Serum! Why aren't you using that on her to get the truth?"

"She's a pureblood, laws dictate that a Pureblood from an Old Family can refuse Veriatserum and you can't prove her guilt because there is no evidence. Lack of Evidence in and of itself is not Evidence of Guilt." Flint explained and Elizabeth sighed in frustration.

"And why are Purebloods exempt from the ability to question them without fear that they're lying?" Elizabeth questioned again, the disgust evident in her voice. "Discrimination like that is what builds the hostility towards the Upper Class and fuels conflicts." Elizabeth pushed and the three went silent knowing that the argument was going to be circular. Elizabeth sighed again, looking down at her drink as Bryon sat back down seeing the uneasy tension and looking between the people.

"What did I miss?" He asked in confusion.

"Nothing." The three students replied almost instantly, Elizabeth staying silent as she was still thinking about things related to Zabini and the inherent corruption in the Ministry of Magic.

"But what if the person wasn't a Pureblood?" Elizabeth asked.

"Does it matter?" Flint asked with a dismissive gesture.

"What do you mean 'does it matter?' Of course it matters!" Elizabeth responded angrily. "Every life matters, it doesn't matter about the purity of your blood. It's an open secret that she's killing people and you all seem to know it and do nothing because she's 'pureblood' and yet you've just admitted it wouldn't be the same if it was someone who wasn't pureblood." She snapped angrily.

"I'm really confused now." Bryon muttered, having missed the conversation and only catching the aftermath. "Who is killing who?" He asked looking at the two girls.

"Zabini," Gertrude explained with a word and almost instantly Bryon understood the context of the conversation.

"Ah... Oh! OH!" He said in realisation as to why the conversation had just taken a very angry tone. "Trying to keep the peace here, but is there anything WE can do right now?" He asked Elizabeth and she frowned.

"No..." She begrudgingly admitted.

"Then although we're aware how slanted the rules of the Wizarding World are, we can't get worked up about them because it won't make any difference to what is going on." He stated and Elizabeth let out a small harrumph of distaste, focusing on her cup of tea as the Purebloods she was sat with shared a look of frustration.

"If this is what your 'tradition' means to be a Pureblood then perhaps the people from non-magical parents are right to fight the tradition so aggressively." She said, lifting her cup of tea up and taking a drink, holding the cup in both hands as she looked at their reactions. The comment had struck a nerve.

"You don't know our traditions, you're not even from here." Gertrude said angrily. "How dare you judge us like this." She snapped and Elizabeth didn't say anything, continuing to calmly drink her drink. "You yourself have admitted you know nothing about this world and here you are passing judgement about what we're like."

"Because for everything that I hear that is good about the Magical World I keep hearing two points that counter it that show a level of prejudice and corruption that would put the racial segregation of the Muggle World to shame." She criticised knowing full well what that racial tension could cause having lived through it in Columbia, having seen the deaths that had been caused when tension finally hit a level that caused everything to snap. "Look into the Muggle History, look at what they've done to people of different races and cultures and you tell me how you're better than them?" She pushed the topic forward forcefully.

"We are better because we have magic. We can do things that they can only dream about." Flint said dismissively and Elizabeth sighed again, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"This is a circular argument that won't actually go anywhere!" She said in frustration, "you refuse to listen and won't listen without facts in front of you. If I get you some books that talk about some of the things that Muggles have done in the last hundred years will you at least give it a chance to look and see what I'm talking about?" She questioned and begrudgingly, more in hoping that she was going to drop the topic, Flint nodded his head. "Good, I'll get them to you after your match. Don't want to distract you from that now." She said, smiling at him, glad he was at least willing to think about the situation instead of continuing on his complete dismissal of it.

The rest of the afternoon continued relatively quietly though there was an underlying tension to everything. Her derision of what they felt was a key component of their culture, Purebloods being elevated above everyone else regardless of the effort or skill they had towards something.

They returned to the School sometime in the mid-afternoon, Elizabeth hadn't really paid much attention, responding politely when spoken to but otherwise quite content just to walk around the stores, take a look at some of the books that the Wizarding World considered fantasy and even bought a copy of an interesting child's story. The Tales of Beedle the Bard had caught her eye in the bookshop and a simple flick through showed there to be several fairy tales. She added it to the small pile of books that she had bought and then they had returned to Hogwarts. Upon arrival she had excused herself from the group, thanking them for the tour and proceeding to head towards her own room to drop off the purchases.

"Miss DeWitt." She stopped as she heard a voice call her name and turned around, looking to see Draco Malfoy walking towards her. "I finally found you." He said happily and she smiled, the others may have said that he had been arrogant in the common room out of her sight but until he started showing that to her face, she was going to treat him as he was treating her.

"Draco, how are you? It's been a little while." She said, juggling the bags that she had, the book bag starting to hurt her shoulder a little bit.

"I'm good, I've been busy with homework so I haven't been out of the Common Room much." Draco said and idly she wondered how much of that was the truth. She wouldn't claim that he was copying other people's homework but as she did more and more marking of his work she had noticed a few patterns that cropped up in other people's work. Not enough to confirm anything but enough to raise suspicion for her to look closer at future papers. "Can I help you with those?" He asked politely, gesturing to the bags.

"Thank you but I'm ok, I'm going to drop them off in a second. What did you need Draco?" She asked and he brought himself back onto what he had come to speak to her about.

"The Malfoy family is holding a Yuletide Ball this year and my Mother asked me to extend an invite to you personally. She would appreciate it if you came to the party. She even extends the invite to Pot... Harry." He said almost referring to Harry by his last name but caught himself.

"I'm flattered for the invite Draco, I'll have a think about it and let you know. Do you want me to ask Harry for you or do you want to do it?" She asked curiously, she knew the two while not really friends were interacting on a fairly neutral level, neither wanting to start a conflict with the other.

"Would you invite him; I do not think he'd be willing to listen to me." He admitted and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"I'll do it shortly, he's been avoiding me for the last couple of days but I've got to find him later, there's something I need to speak to him about." She added thoughtfully, thinking about the last few days and how he had practically run off in a different direction to her. It had been slightly amusing at first but now it was starting to get annoying.

"How he could ever run away from such a beautiful lady like yourself I have no idea." Draco commented politely, a slight pink tinge on his face as he realised what he had said.

Elizabeth smiled, chuckling slightly as she reached over with her free hand and ruffled his hair. "Draco, you're going to be quite the charmer when you grow up." She said sweetly and then waved to him. "I better go put these things back. Talk to you later?" She asked and he nodded.

"You could join me at the Slytherin Table?" He suggested. Elizabeth looked thoughtful for a moment, before shaking her head.

"I don't think that's going to be a good idea, I've just spent the day in Hogsmeade with Mr Flint and a group of his friends, I don't think they're too happy with me after I questioned a few things." She responded evasively and Draco let out a disappointed sigh before saying goodbye and walking away. She returned to the task at hand, dropping off her bags before either her fingers fell off from how she was holding them or the handles of the bags snapped. She arrived back at her room, said the password to the portrait and the door swung up. She walked in and stopped, there slumped over at her desk asleep was Harry. There were bags under his eyes that she hadn't noticed before, the fact he hadn't been sleeping well was plainly obvious now as she looked at him. She put her bags down on the floor by her bed and walked over gently shaking him. "Harry." She called, shaking him again "come on Harry time to wake up." She called again. He grunted in annoyance batting her hand away as he tried to continue sleeping. "Wake up Harry or I'll pour water over your head." She warned him, shaking him again.

"I'm sleeping." He mumbled under his breath in protest, slowly starting to shift and wake up, yawning as he moved.

"Surely, you'd be more comfortable sleeping in your own room rather than at the desk like this." She commented quietly as he sat up in the chair, his red bloodshot eyes from having just woken up focused on her. "What's wrong Harry? I thought everything was going okay.

"I didn't realise just how tiring the Quidditch Training would be." He admitted, yawning again and stretching his arms.

"With the way you've been avoiding me over the last week, I didn't expect you to be here sleeping when I returned." She said calmly and Harry ducked his head.

"I didn't mean to avoid you I just needed some time to think." Harry explained, "I still don't know why I acted like that with Ron, I just saw that he hurt her and... I saw red." He finished lamely before coughing. "I mean... more red than just his hair." He added jokingly.

"Heh, that was a terrible joke Harry." She said, still laughing slightly at it, the tension in the air disappearing as she returned to her bags and started to unpack the books that she had bought. "But we both know why you acted the way you did." She said with certainty. "I can tell you, but I want you to tell me." She finished, walking over to the bookcase and starting to place the books there.

"I guess... I guess he just reminded me so much of Dudley at that moment." Harry confessed slowly, hesitant to say it, he hated talking about or even acknowledging the existence of his relatives and here he was digging up the past, thinking about his time in Primary School with how Dudley would always try to bully and isolate him with his gang of friends.

"Go on." Elizabeth urged politely, knowing that he was hesitant to speak about it but knowing it wouldn't get any problems off of his chest if he didn't speak up.

"Ron in that one moment reminded me so much of Dudley. His actions reminded me of every time he made a girl cry in Primary School and got away with it, every time he hurt another kid and they were the ones that got penalized because of it. Every time that he and his friends would chase me and attack me and not get penalized for it. I couldn't stand by and let someone else be the same way as him."

"And so you fought him." Elizabeth said patiently.

"If you can call that a fight... one punch does not make a fight." He said dismissively. "Not one of my finest moments though... is it?" He asked quietly and she shook her head. "I know what I did was wrong but I couldn't just let it happen. He needed to know that there will be bad things that happen for what he does." Harry muttered clasping his hands together and leaning against his head against his thumbs, looking at Elizabeth wanting her to say something. the Silence from her was driving him mad and the fact that she was expecting him to keep talking and he wasn't sure where to go. "And I'm really beginning to feel like I'm being interrogated by the quietest interrogator ever with that look you're giving me." Harry said to Elizabeth nervously and she started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh but..." She started giggling again and Harry frowned, "sorry, sorry, just that frown, it doesn't look right on your face Harry." She commented getting herself under control. "You're a good person Harry the fact that you feel so strongly about how he acted shows you're a kind and considerate person that will defend others where he can. I was surprised to find that you were fighting. I was disappointed as well, not the reason behind your actions but the actions you took." She confessed to him. "The reasons behind your actions made me prouder than I've shown for you before." She bent down, looking him in the eyes. "Be that person Harry. Don't be the one that in an effort to stop the bullying becomes the bully instead." She asked him, taking his hands in hers. "I don't think I could remain friends with someone who did that." She said bringing his hands up and kissing them softly. He blushed at the action, turning his head and stammering slightly. "So," she said, letting go of his hands and stepping back, dusting off her robes. "Are you ready for your Quidditch game next weekend?" She asked and Harry nodded with determination.

"I doubt I'll get to play, Cho is really good, but I'm ready if they need me." He said and she smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Good, I'll be rooting for Ravenclaw all the way. you know that right?" She said happily.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." He responded just as cheekily.

"Give me a hand putting these books away and we'll head down to the Great Hall and have dinner, it's been a while since I've sat at the Ravenclaw table. Let's make sure they haven't forgotten me." She said and started to walk over to the bookcase.

"Why don't you ever come into the Common Room?" Harry asked as he stood up and walked over to the pile of books that sat by her bed. "The Ravenclaws won't turn you away."

"Personal choice mainly." Elizabeth admitted, taking the first book from Harry. "I'm not really a student here after all, the Common Room is for you and the other students, I'm an outsider and I want them to have a place to relax without having to watch their words with me around. Even if I promise to be just another Ravenclaw and not a staff member, they're still going to think that I could switch at any time and become the Teacher that stops them from having fun and they won't relax." Elizabeth continued, taking books one at a time from Harry and placing them on the bookshelf. "Besides, you can't have me around all the time. You need to grow, become your own man Harry."

"Still, I'd like you to come to the Common Room every now and again," Harry said slightly petulantly and she smiled at him.

"Perhaps, but it won't be a frequent thing." She said and placed the last book on the shelf. "Well then, shall we go to dinner?" Elizabeth asked leading Harry to the door. "Just so we're clear, I'm not going to find you sleeping in here all the time am I?" She asked jokingly causing him to blush again. "You're so easy to tease Harry." She said with a laugh as the door swung open the two stepping out into the corridor, the tension between the two now gone, one small hurdle cleared.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"And another goal for Ravenclaw, they lead 20 to 10 in the early moments of the game. A great pass by chaser Stretton completely catches Pucey off guard and allows Davies to score." The voice of Lee called out to the cheers of the crowd. It was almost unanimous in which sides the crowd they were split. Slytherin cheered for Slytherin, the other three houses were all cheering for Ravenclaw.

Harry was sat down on the ground watching the gameplay, keeping an eye out for the Snitch and keeping an eye on Cho as the players continued to wiz around, the Quaffle flying in various directions as they players fought for control.

"A stiff tackle from Montague, Burrow drops the ball, Flint catches it, he's making a beeline down the side, Inglebee with the bludger but it misses." Lee Jordan continued calling the commentary as fast as he could see it, the Slytherins with possession of the ball shot down the pitch, Flint barrel rolling over the bludger, throwing the Quaffle to Montague, the wizard ducking a tackle attempt from Stretton and had to reverse direction sharply as another bludger almost took the end of his broom off. "Slytherin are showing why they've held the cup for the past several years. Come on Ravenclaw, knock them off their brooms."

"Mr Jordan if you can't remain unbiased then I will find someone else to do your job." McGonagall's voice interrupted over the magnified voice of Lee Jordan.

"Heh sorry professor, won't happen again." Lee Jordan replied almost as quickly, though his tone easily showed he had no intention of actually doing that. "Another narrow miss of the Bludger, Samuels has definitely been practicing and a pass back to Flint, he shoots... NO! Grant Page makes the save! A dive that almost took him off his broom but he stopped the quaffle going through."

The commentary continued but Harry tuned it out, looking around the stadium trying to spot people he knew, He could see Ron and Hermione, the two sitting with a batch of Red Heads that could only be his brothers, they were cheering just as wildly as the others though if he didn't know better, he could have sworn that Hermione had a book held in one of her hands. He laughed rolling his eyes as he continued, focusing on the Teachers Stand, seeing many of them in attendance, Snape looked bored as he sat next to Quirrel, watching the match with only mild interest. At least that was the impression he seemed to give, Harry didn't think the man knew how to turn off the mask that he had in place. "Chang is making a dive, has she seen the snitch?" Jordan called out and the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs shot after her. She twisted, narrowly avoiding the poles of the goals as she tried to keep after the snitch. "Higgs is closing in but Chang is staying determined, can she reach it?" Jordan called out as Slytherin scored a goal on the distracted Ravenclaws as Higgs shot by the goal keeper to try and catch up. "Bletchley hits the bludger, it's going straight for Chang. I don't think she's seen it... CHANG LOOK OUT!" Jordan called out, breaking all pretence of being a spectator as the Bludger hit Cho in the back knocking her straight off course into the side of the stand. "She's down, I hope she's okay." Jordan spoke and Harry ran over to where she had fallen, the banners that showed the house colours having slowed her decent as she fell. "Potter is already over there, Davies has called a time out and Madam Hooch is landing to see if Chang is going to be able to complete.

Harry was already by her the moment the others landed, she was unconscious and he didn't dare move her just in case there was any serious damage.

Flitwick had made his way down from the stands just as quickly and was soon with her as Madam Hooch continued her examination. "She won't be able to continue the match." She said before looking at Flitwick, "You need to get her to the Hospital Wing, carefully, there's possible spinal damage but Madam Pomfrey should be able to get her healed up in a couple of days." Hooch explained and Flitwick nodded, conjuring a stretcher and levitating her carefully onto it.

Marcus Flint landed, "Their seeker is unable to play, do they forfeit?" He asked and Davies responded almost instantly.

"No! We don't forfeit, Harry get your broom you're on."

"The rules specifically forbid it." Flint snapped and Hooch stepped in to stop the brewing argument.

"That's not your call!" Davies snapped and Hooch turned her cool gaze onto him, stopping him in his tracks before she focused on Flint.

"While unconventional you know as well as I do that the rule in question was suspended for all matches in Hogwarts as of this year. They have a substitute and they are allowed to use it. Mr Potter, get your broom." She then turned to Davies. "The moment he gets back the match resumes, make sure you're ready. Back into the air." She barked at both of them and the two captains shot up on their brooms. Moments later, Harry was back and in the air on the broom that he had gotten from Flitwick and other professors for getting onto the team. A Nimbus 2000. Fastest broom on the market at the moment.

He shot into the air, quickly meeting up with the team before rising higher still and watching over the pitch as the game started again, he looked around, scanning the pitch for the snitch, immediately having to roll out of the way as a Bludger shot at him. "Looks like the Slytherin's already have a game plan in action, take out the Seeker so Ravenclaw have no chance to win, underhanded but clever." Jordan's commentary called out as Harry dived out of the way of yet another bludger, the Two Slytherin Beaters alternating between hitting the two bludgers at the chasers and up at Harry. He watched, a shimmer of gold near the Ravenclaw stand and dived, Higgs was closer but he was slower to react not seeing exactly where he was going. Harry made a dash for the stand and with Higgs almost completely out of position Harry would have had a straight line for the snitch.

The world spun for him, Flint slamming into him as he went for it, Harry crashing into the spectators, groaning in pain as he tried to sit himself up shaking away the stars. "Foul! Penalty for Ravenclaw." Madam Hooch called as Harry slowly dusted himself off, the world spinning a little bit as blood started to trickle from a cut on his forehead where he had caught the benches that the people sat on.

Around him he could hear people asking if he was okay, he brushed it off, not saying anything as he jumped back onto his broom and shot into the air. Ravenclaw had scored the penalty shot and already the Slytherin's were trying to even the score, darting back across the pitch, the three in position to defend themselves when the Ravenclaws struck.

Except Harry came at them from behind. Looping around had been relatively easy with the superior speed of his broom. He had gotten around and darted in the back dropping under and pulling up sharply, breaking the formation up. Flint tried to grab him as did Pucey but he twisted out of the way, Samuels and Inglebee, the two Ravenclaw beaters covering his escape as they smacked bludgers into the Slytherin chasers. "It looks like Potter didn't appreciate the attempt to turn him into a spectator, he's broken up the Slytherin assault and now he's pulling back into the air to continue the search for the Snitch." Jordan continued to cover the match, Harry leaning forward slightly on his broom as the world continued to shake slightly. the blow to his head not fully shaken off yet.

In the back of the Ravenclaw stand, Elizabeth sat, watching nervously as Harry continued to play, darting in and breaking up Slytherin manoeuvres with the advantage of speed over them but they were proving quick to adapt and the last attempt had nearly taken him out, Bole, the Slytherin Beater had pre-empted the attack when he saw Harry moving and had aimed the bludger into the area his team were flying so that Harry would almost directly fly into. She gasped as Harry narrowly avoided the bludger, swerving at the last second.

"Things are changing." A female voice spoke, right next to Elizabeth pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Things have changed." A male voice spoke to the side of her. She glanced and immediately confirmed her suspicion, the Lutece Twins were back.

"Things are becoming interesting." The woman's voice added and Elizabeth, already knowing who it was glanced to either side to see the Lutece twins in their usual brown clothing sitting in the stand next to her looking up at the pitch.

"Things already are interesting and knowing that you're here they're probably about to get worse." Elizabeth said with a certainty, something always happened when these two were on the scene. But at the same time she was here to see the game and they were interrupting.

"We thought you had more subtlety Elizabeth, apparently your ordeal and change in life has caused it to wither away."

"Surrounded by children who barely understand the simplest of things that they do, can you blame her for her senses becoming dulled?"

"I don't have time for word games, what do you want?" Elizabeth asked in annoyance, trying to stay focused on what was happening in case anything did happen.

"To watch a show, to see a sport."

"Don't you already know how this ends?" She asked in frustration.

"We know."

"Or we will know." Rosalind added as an afterthought to her brother's comment. "The question is what will you do when it happens."

"Are we still talking about the game?" Robert asked and Elizabeth turned to face him in confusion.

"What do you even mean? You're referring to the game and yet not?" She asked looking up to the sky as the crowd gasped. the broom Harry was riding had started to buck wildly, almost flinging him off as he tried to keep hold, dangling in the air as it swung wildly about trying to force him to let go and drop him to the ground. "This is what you were talking about weren't you?" She asked but already they were gone. "Damn them." She muttered trying to find the cause of what was causing the problem with Harry's broom.

Harry was confused and scared as he held onto his broom, he had gone for another dive to break up the newest Slytherin assault but had been stopped as his broom jerked. He looked at it in confusion, not sure what had caused that as he tried to examine it. The broom bucked again, almost throwing him off, he struggled to hold on to the broom as it bucked again throwing him into the air, his hands barely keeping a grip on it as he now hung from the broom "Something seems to be wrong with Potter's broom, it's trying to throw him off." Jordan called and the gasp of the crowd carried all the way to him up in the air. He struggled to keep his grip as the broom shifted in directions spasming around trying to get him off. The Ravenclaws reacted immediately, the chasers moving up to try and grab him but the broom pulled Harry away from them, leading him further up into the air. The Slytherin chasers though were quick to try and take advantage of it, heading out and having almost free reign on the pitch.

Hermione and Ron were watching in shock, pointing up and hastily whispering at what was going on. "A Nimbus shouldn't malfunction like this." Ron said quickly to Hermione who nodded her head.

"It looks like it's being jinxed, its moving in response to other people coming near as well." She said as she watched the broom again pull away from other people as they came close.

"Maybe they could angle it towards the lake, at least if he falls he's have a soft landing." Ron suggested as Hermione scanned the staff area. "What are you looking for?" Ron asked seeing Hermione looking at the staff section.

"Someone is jinxing his broom and it's not something a student could do." She said quickly, looking through her binoculars, "There! you need direct eye contact and to continue uttering the jinx as you're performing it. Look at Snape." Hermione said passing the binoculars to Ron.

"Snape!" Ron cried out in shock. "We need to get over there and do something." He said, quickly standing up and the two made a mad dash to escape the Gryffindor Stand.

Harry hung onto the broom with everything he could muster, his arm aching both from the shaking about and the impact into the stand, the world was still spinning slightly but he still kept his grip, he could feel his fingers hurting as he tried to keep his grip, wondering if the broom would crack under the pressure of how hard he was holding onto it. Elizabeth was watching from the stand, ready to open a tear at a moment's notice if he did fall as the rest of the Ravenclaw students were talking animatedly, a few trying to see what was causing the broom to malfunction and others panicking wondering if something else was going to happen.

Hermione and Ron arrived at the Staff box, looking up at the sky they saw Harry lose his grip, one hand falling off of the broom, "We need to Hurry." Hermione called, running into the back area that led beneath the benches where the staff were sitting. "Incendio!" She called, alighting Snape's robes.

There was no reaction at first, and Hermione was prepared to take more drastic action if needed but she didn't have to, another of the staff, smelling smoke saw that Snape's robe was on fire. "Fire!" He called out, "you're on fire!" He said again and Snape, forced to break eye contact with Harry turned quickly jumping up and trying to put out the fire.

Hermione ducked back out of the area, looking up in the sky and let out a cry as the broom bucked one last time and Harry lost his grip falling through the air. "No!" She cried out in horror as he fell.

Harry lost his grip, he flailed trying to grab it as it moved away from him or correction, as he moved away from it, dropping down, he twisted, looking down at the ground, already seeing it steadily moving closer to him.

A flicker of gold in front of him. The Snitch.

His hand snatched out and grabbed it. He may die here but at least he won the match for Ravenclaw.

Below him the ground grew closer and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen. Not wanting to see his death closing in on him.

He hit the ground.

TBC

Next chapter has now been done, Man I'm evil to leave you on a cliff hanger like that. Hope you enjoy and I'll see you in the next part.

This chapter was at the time the hardest one to write. I generally try to keep to already established characters but I needed more people so I looked into other Slytherin students and found a couple of people that have only ever been mentioned in passing in Slytherin House and ran with it. The Jury is still out in how much I plan to put into them or if they'll even reappear again, I can easily see them coming back and I have several ideas in mind.

There will be a bit more interaction between Elizabeth and other people in the coming chapters, especially Draco and a few of the older students as well. I just kind of want to rush through first year a bit. I have lots of plans for second year onwards but first year is just meh to write, you can only rehash them so many ways.

And if anyone knows what I've done here I'll be impressed.


	8. Chapter 8: Hospital Questions

**Chapter 8: Hospital Questions**

 _Disclaimer: There are constants and Variables in the world. Here is a constant for you: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock Infinite, each belong to their respective owners._

 _Update Notice: Just as a forewarning, i may not be able to upload next Saturday, if i dont get to it i'll upload it on the Sunday instead._

 _"There are loved ones in the glory,"_

What was that voice he could hear? Harry's entire body ached, he lay in something soft, his mind flashing images, the Quidditch match, the broom that malfunctioned and the fall, he was dead. he had to be dead, there was no way to survive that fall.

But if he was dead, why did he hurt so much.

 _"Whose dear forms you often miss;"_

That voice... who was singing, his body refused to respond, his brain still focusing on the fall, he could see the ground closing in on him, he could feel the impact of the ground and could remember nothing past it.

 _"When you close your Earthly story,"_

He wanted to open his eyes, his body refused to move, the person singing sounded sad, he tried to move his arm, to reach for the person to try and comfort them as they were no doubt trying to do to him in his state.

 _"Will you join them in their bliss?"_

The song was familiar, where had he heard it? Who had he heard singing it? His brain was a jumble nothing was right for him at the moment, his mind just kept stalling,

 _"Will the circle be unbroken"  
"By and by, by and by?"_

He screamed in his head, trying to force himself to move, trying to think about any form of indication that he was awake. his finger twitched, but nothing more.

 _"Is a better home awaiting"  
"in the sky, in the sky?"_

The woman continued to sing, he could start to hear the voice, was that? the name was so obvious to him and yet it wouldn't reach out, it wouldn't click, his head wasn't making the right connections. Was this just his body dying on him and here he was trapped in it as she sung? Was he just going to move on like this with little to no fight in him?

No!

 _"In the joyous days of childhood,"  
"oft they told of wondrous love,"_

He wasn't going to give up here, he was going to take full advantage of being known as the person who survived the unsurvivable and he was going to move!

 _"Pointed to the Dying Saviour;"  
"Now they dwell with Him above."_

He gasped loudly, his eyes opening, the world around him spun as he suddenly shifted onto his side, coughing heavily, interrupting the person singing a surprised cry of "Harry!" as he continued to cough. hands pressed against his back, rubbing it gently as he struggled to catch his breath, "easy Harry, you're okay." She said soothingly, as he tried to stop himself from coughing and spluttering. Several seconds passed, his breathing calmed and he fell backwards, her hands gently guiding him back onto the bed.

"Eliz...abeth?" He asked croakily, his throat dry, cracked and sore after coughing so much.

"Hey Harry," she said softly, reaching up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "You gave us quite a scare." She spoke quietly in the dark hospital wing.

"What... time..." He tried to speak but his voice kept cracking up as he spoke.

"It's about eleven at night." She explained, leaning back into her chair. "I think I've annoyed people staying here as long as I have." She joked lightly and Harry coughed out a couple of laughs, Elizabeth winced, pouring him a glass of water from the jug on the bedside table, leaning forwards, lifting his head gently and tipping the glass slightly to allow him to slowly drink. "You gave us quite a scare Harry."

"How long have I been out?" He rasped, his voice still croaky and dry but it didn't hurt as much to talk.

"Almost a month." She explained, placing the glass back on the desk.

"A month?" Harry asked in shock not believing that it had been that long that he had been unconscious, with the amount of pain he was feeling he figured it had been a day or two at most.

"You're lucky to be alive, you should have died from that impact." Elizabeth said quietly, looking away from him. In the darkness and the haze of not wearing his glasses he thought he saw a look of guilt but dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"How did I survive?" He asked slowly, his mind still trying to work on what happened. "I remember falling, closing my eyes and then nothing."

"I opened a tear," Elizabeth started quietly, "between you and I, I've been understating the powers that I'm able to access." She paused, looking around the darkened room. "It's not just small things that can interact with, I can go anywhere, I can visit anytime. The doors are all there for me to open at will. For a time, I was limited to what I could do but situations changed that." She paused, taking a deep breath her thoughts flashing back to Columbia. "When you fell, I tried to open a rift, a big one that would have had you land in a pool of water, you still would have been hurt but it would have been nowhere near as bad. The students I were with were panicking and I got knocked." She paused again, brushing her fringe out of her eyes as she focused on him. "I was only able to open a small area of water, not nearly deep enough for you to hit properly and escape with only small injuries, but that wasn't the only part that changed, when you landed the rift started to close," she stopped, looking down at his hand. He followed her gaze, looking at his right hand which was bandaged up he tried to move the fingers but something felt off. "I'm sorry Harry, if I had been more careful this would never have happened to you." She apologised as he weakly lifted his hand up to look at it.

"What happened?" He whispered, looking at his fingers, his thumb was fine, his index and middle finger was fine, the ring finger was also fine.

But his pinkie finger.

It was shorter.

a lot shorter.

"The rift closed as I was getting you out, your finger was caught in the last of it, it's gone." She said slowly and winced, waiting for an outburst.

"What do you mean gone?" He asked in confusion, how could his finger just be gone like it was.

"They tried to regrow it with magic but something was stopping it, I don't know if your magic still considers it there because of how it was removed but for all intents and purpose, we're in the same situation." She spoke, taking his hand in hers. "When you're up and about, we'll talk more about it, for now, just know I'm going to start teaching you." she said softly, placing his hand back down on the bed. "Now close your eyes and go to sleep, I'll still be here in the morning." She placed her hand on his cheek caressing it softly, "On a lighter note though, you won the match." She said lamely with a smile and Harry smiled himself, his eyes closing.

 _"Will the Circle be unbroken  
By and by, by and by?  
Is a better home awaiting  
In the sky, in the sky?"_

She started to sing quietly again as Harry tried in vain to fight off the tiredness that he was feeling. His last thoughts as he drifted off to a slumber was of her singing and how beautiful her voice sounded.

HPCVHPCV

He awoke the next morning, shielding his eyes from the light that shone in through the window, his body stiff and aching he tried to look around, the chair that Elizabeth had been sitting in the night before was empty, looking further he realised why, she had moved, lying on the bed next to his, sleeping on top of the quilt on her side facing him as she slept. He decided not to wake her, she looked so peaceful as she rested and he leant back into his own bed, closing his eyes again. He could wait a little while before he alerted anyone that he was awake.

HPCVHPCV

In the Great Hall, Draco sat at the Slytherin table, a letter that had arrived the night before from his mother still clutched in his hands as he thought about what it said. When the school year had started, he had been told to befriend Elizabeth and Harry, to try and win them over. With Elizabeth, in his opinion it had been easy enough, be polite and show some of the Malfoy charm that he had. She was pretty and easy to talk to, she didn't try and force any agenda on the people she spoke to and when she had an opinion on something, even if Draco felt it was wrong, she tried to back it up with evidence and just asked him to think on things. Never once did she flat out say she was wrong.

Harry on the other hand was a harder one to deal with. The Boy-Who-Lived was a tricky one, he was for lack of a better word... Diplomatic with Draco, they spoke but there was always an underlying tension that was there. He didn't hate the boy because of the simple fact they hadn't really interacted but at the same time, he didn't like Harry because of how much the other teachers including Elizabeth paid attention to him in class. Outside of Snape who was firmly on the side of the Slytherins and Quirrel who seemed to have an indifference to Harry. He seemed to be the favourite no matter how he acted. Even after his little fight with Weasley, he was still treated with respect by many students even though he had been fighting like a muggle. In fact, most people had been talking about how noble he was for sticking up for Granger when she was being singled out and picked on.

Then the Quidditch Match. What had even happened there? Not only did Potter survive a fall from a great height into what looked like a small pond that appeared out of nowhere but he had managed to catch the snitch as well. How could one person be so lucky. It infuriated Draco just thinking about it. Since then, Elizabeth had barely left the Hospital Wing, she had slept in there, she had taken her meals in there and even continued with her work in there outside of lessons, taking the time to mark the homework that she had to in there, one of the beds had pretty much been filled with paperwork whenever she was in there. Why did he get so much attention from her? Now his mother was sending him letters, asking how Harry Potter was doing. Why would she care? He had asked about it, he was waiting for the post today to get a response, she was concerned for his health even though the Boy-Who-Lived had stopped You-Know-Who's reign before and thrust all that suspicion onto his father that cost so much money to avoid.

A familiar Eagle owl flew into the Great Hall, flying over to him and dropping a letter from its talons he took the letter tearing it open as the Owl already made its way out barely stopping in its flight a.

 _Draco_

I take concern in Harry Potter as I would all family, he is your cousin after all.

Draco felt pained, he read the letter in shock, his brain registering it but his mind not wanting to believe that was written. He wracked his brain for the family tree lessons that his mother had given him and the family tree that he had studied and cursed as he remembered the connection. It was through his Grandfather on the Black side of the family, he was related through that. His sister, Draco's great Aunt Dorea had married a Potter.

He was related to Harry Potter.

He cursed

He was related to the Boy-Who-Bloody-Lived!

He had a drink of Pumpkin Juice to keep himself calm, he folded the letter, deciding to read the rest of it later. he stood up, walking across the Great Hall, his face schooled into a mask of indifference. He was a Malfoy and a Black, he was not going to let anyone see any sign of weakness that he may have been feeling from the revelation of the letter. He exited, brushing past a few Hufflepuffs that barely moved out of the way in time and made his way up stairs, heading towards the medical wing. All this time, he had one thought circulating, not the fact that Potter was his cousin, however distant it was, he could never remember family titles like that in the slightest. The one thought that was crossing his mind was that someone had tried to hurt Family, regardless of how distant that actually was.

And that was both confusing him and pissing him off.

Draco was finding it hard to resist, the urge to destroy something and to vent some frustration. He had seen the broom kicking about and knew that it was no malfunction, he knew that something had been affecting the broom. He stopped as he heard footsteps running in the direction he was going, he stepped to the side, moving into the shadows of one of the many suits of armours. "Come on Ron, I want to see if he's awake, we need to tell him what happened." Granger, it had to be her, the bushy know it all Muggleborn that Harry had defended and Elizabeth had saved. And following behind was Ron Weasley. He cursed, if they were going to be there it would be a lot harder to talk to Harry and Elizabeth. But what was this she had mentioned? what did she know about what had happened? He followed cautiously, He didn't want them to know that he was following as he thought about the possibility.

Someone had to have jinxed the broom, there was no other way that a brand new top of the line broom would have acted like that if it had simply malfunctioned. For someone to do that it would have to be someone not only well educated but powerful as well, the spells would have to overpower the protections on the broom to prevent tampering just like that.

No student could have power like that. As the implication stepped into the forefront of his mind, the realisation struck home like a boulder to the gut. "It's a professor." He muttered in realisation, it had been at the back of his mind but even now he didn't really want to believe it. He had always been told that the other Professors were strictly Light, that to even consider doing something like what had happened would be completely foreign to them. But it made sense to him, only a professor could have had that much of an effect on the broom, a seventh year could possibly have an effect on the broom but not to the level that it had been. Now the question was whom? Granger seemed to have an idea as to who it was but he wondered how accurate it was. He continued up the corridor his mind mulling over the possible people involved in this and who was there at the time to have caused it to happen. So many suspects, so many unlikely suspects but that was another problem that arose during You-Know-Who's rise to power, people were suspicious of everyone, with the Imperius curse, you couldn't tell who you could trust, the spell could have controlled anyone to do what the caster wanted. Even now, it may not be You-Know-Who causing it but one who supported him trying to exact revenge in a way that would look more like an accident than anything else. Draco found himself torn by that, his father had always gone on about the authority of the Dark Lord and that he had been in the right but this was different, wasn't it?

This was family. And his mother had always reinforced the notion that Family came above all else, regardless of their loyalties. She had even spoke about those that had been cast from the family like Sirius Black and Andromeda Tonks, she had explained that if they called, she would more than likely still answer as long as it didn't cause too much of a conflict of interest.

He stopped at the doorway to the Hospital Wing, he could hear hushed voices talking as he leant around to glance into the room. Potter was awake, the two Gryffindors talking quickly to him, Elizabeth looked to still be asleep resting on the neighbouring bed, the trio were talking in hushed whispers and Draco couldn't hear them clearly.

A hand landed on his shoulder, he jumped, biting back a shout of surprise, and turned.

Terry Boot and Su Li were standing there eyeing him suspiciously. "Can we help you Draco?" Terry asked as Draco brushed off the hand.

"None of your concern Boot." Draco dismissed as he started to step away, towards the Medical Wing.

"It is our concern when it's a friend lying in there," Terry pushed and Draco rolled his eyes.

"I can assure you I mean no harm to precious Potter." Draco sneered, slipping back into his superior smugness.

"Oh, and why would that be? we all know your father was one of the Dark Lords lackeys, regardless of how much money he used to escape justice." Terry said back angrily.

"My father is a great man!" Draco snapped, "you just wouldn't understand what it's like, to lose control because the Dark Lord himself was pulling the strings." It was a manipulation of the facts but it was one that Draco had drilled into his head from a young age, as far as anyone else was concerned, Lucius was controlled by the Dark Lord, there was no willingness to murder and maim the Half-blood and Muggleborn population. Regardless of how superior they were to those of lesser blood.

"That is what the verdict declared." Su Li commented simply but the words had so much more meaning behind it. Draco bit back a comment, turning back and walking into the Hospital Wing.

"Besides, I have more than a valid reason to make sure Potter is okay." Draco explained dismissively as he walked towards the trio, catching the tail end of the whispers.

"It was Snape, Harry. I've read about jinxes and they all require constant eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking." Hermione whispered quickly then stopped as she saw Draco approaching.

Draco again was feeling a crisis building, what Granger had said made sense, but Snape? His Godfather being the one responsible. Without thinking he immediately went for the aggressive tactic. "Have you taken leave of your sense Granger? Snape attacked Potter?" He said though there wasn't as much force behind it as he could have done.

"Who else could have done it then Draco, if not him then which teacher would want to do it?"

"What evidence do you have that he did do it?" Draco snapped back. "Yes he's trained in Dark Arts and yes he is one of those capable of doing it but what was the motive? Why would he do something so blatant?"

"Motive? Here is a motive for you Malfoy, he hates Harry." Ron responded just as harshly, "it's well known he hates everyone outside of your slimy house and we know he hates Harry more than others." Ron continued angrily. The red head continued to rant about the 'slimy potions professor' but Draco was not paying any attention to him as he focused on Hermione and Harry who both had a look of pensiveness on their faces.

"Weasley, use some of those brains you think you have and keep the noise down." Draco said in annoyance, gesturing back to where Elizabeth still slept though from the looks of it, she may wake up soon, her brow creasing at the noise. "You're in a hospital."

"Draco," Terry spoke up, having followed the blonde into the room with Su Li. "What did you mean before? You have more of a reason to make sure that Harry is okay?" He asked curiously.

"I'm surprised you can't work it out Boot, didn't your family teach you anything about the ancient families." Draco said with a smugness that hid the fact that until this morning he had completely forgotten the connection between himself and Potter. "Potter and I, are cousins." Draco said to the surprise of others. "Distant but cousins none the less, so any question as to why I'm here?" Draco asked condescendingly, walking over, and taking the seat in between the two beds and sitting down. "So, Potter, mother sent me to make sure you're okay." He said calmly and Harry smiled slightly. "Now, what the hell is this about Professor Snape cursing your broom?" He asked, turning to look at Hermione as she finished.

"His broom was jinxed by something or someone, it wasn't the broom malfunctioning, I've read a lot about it and..." Draco cut her off.

"Of course you have." He said rudely and focused on Potter. "Tell me Potter, do you think this is something that Snape would do if it was him?" Draco asked and Harry after a moment shook his head.

"If Snape wanted me dead it would be easier to make it look like a potions accident instead of something that would draw a lot more attention to him, if anything happened to me around here, he would be the first suspect just because of who he is." Harry said calmly and saw Draco smirk at Hermione as she nodded in agreement.

"Even Granger understands that it's too obvious that it was him when she thinks about it." Draco said with a gesture.

"Then if he wasn't cursing the broom what was he doing?" Ron asked and Hermione slapped her head with her palm.

"Of course, the counter curse." She said in realisation, "it requires you to do the same as if you were cursing it." Hermione explained to Ron who looked confused. "But why now? Why try to kill him now... wait, that means this is my fault!" She cried out and looked at Harry eyes pleading for forgiveness. "Harry, you have to forgive me; I didn't know that this would have happened."

"What are you talking about Hermione? how is this your fault?" Harry asked in confusion, from what he had been able to tell so far, Hermione had just witnessed Snape chanting not actually done anything to interfere.

"I tried to help, I knew that he just needed to lose eye contact so I set his robes on fire, forced him to break his spell." Hermione admitted and Draco burst out laughing at that.

"You set Professor Snape on fire?" Draco asked in laughter, cackling loudly as he did before stopping himself, reminding himself of the sleeping assistant next to him. "Granger, I was wrong about you, that's impressive." He admitted, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

"I broke his counter spell, that's why you fell." Hermione finished sadly and Harry smiled reassuringly at her.

"You worked with what you knew Hermione, I can't hate you for that." He comforted before turning to Draco. "So, who does that leave? what professors were there?"

"All of them except Dumbledore." Draco commented, he had also paid attention to who was in the stands back when it happened. he didn't have any binoculars but he could tell each of the staff apart. "Not a small pool of suspects."

"How do we know it wasn't her?" Ron asked quietly gesturing to the still sleeping Elizabeth.

"It wasn't her." Both Harry and Draco said with a deathly seriousness that made Ron flinch back. The two shared a look and Draco shrugged. "It's obvious to anyone with half a brain Weasley, she's a friend of Potter and she's loyal to those friends, besides, she hasn't had any training in magic beyond first year, do you really think she's going to be the cause of that?"

"Well what about that other magic she did?" Ron asked angrily, "what about that spell she used to deal with the Troll, she summoned a storm!" Ron cried out and then slammed a hand over his mouth as he remembered he had promised not to speak about that. Draco looked confused and Harry turned away, looking at the ground, emotions playing across his face but no one pushed him for it.

"Maybe we should stay focused." Su Li said looking at the four visiting students. "We know someone tried to kill Harry, it may or may not be connected to other things that are going on. Like the corridor that's forbidden, I've asked around and it was perfectly fine last year, just another abandoned corridor that wasn't used anymore, yet now it's locked off under pain of death."

"What about that break in at Gringotts?" Terry added in realisation, "that happened shortly after the School year was started, nothing was taken because the vault had been emptied." Terry added and then Draco chimed in with the last thought.

"And the Mountain Troll, they're not really native around here are they?" He said pointedly. "Something is going on in this school and someone is trying to drag Potter into this." He finished.

"In other words, we need to look into this, try and find out what was in the vault, what is in the corridor and who was cursing Harry's broom." Su Li commented calmly, "Draco, do you think you could talk to Professor Snape, find out if he knows anything?" She asked and Draco nodded, though he seemed dubious about it. "I don't want you to accuse him and you could probably get more of a response than any of us ever could." She reasoned and he nodded at the logic. "Terry and I can look around, see if we can find any information about what was in the vault and you two can look into the Third-floor corridor." She said with a final gesture to Hermione and Ron.

"What? but we can't it's forbidden." Hermione protested.

"He said it was only forbidden to those who don't want to die a painful death, he never actually said it was out of bounds. Besides, you've probably got the only people in your house who could get there and look into it without being caught by whatever was there and whoever is keeping an eye on it." She said with seriousness and Ron groaned.

"I'm going to have to bring the twins into this?" He asked slowly and Su Li shrugged.

"It's up to you, you don't have to bring them into it but you can't deny that they'd be helpful." She said with a shrug.

"Fine, I'll talk to them, they've been thinking about looking into it anyway." Ron said walking out of the Hospital Wing.

"Get better soon Harry, you're my main competition." Hermione joked weakly before quickly leaving after Ron.

"Harry, we'll get started on this now, if we find anything we'll let you know." Terry said as he was dragged out by Su Li.

That left three people in the room, Harry, Draco and the still sleeping Elizabeth, "she must have been exhausted." Harry commented quietly with a nod to Elizabeth.

"She's been in here pretty much every day since you were brought in, from what I've heard the professors say, she's been awake since early morning all the way until she's passed out each night to make sure she was awake when you woke up." Draco explained politely, glancing at the dark-haired woman who continued to sleep peacefully.

"What were you saying about us being cousins?" Harry asked.

"Distant." Draco hastily added, "your Grandmother was my Grandfathers sister on my mother's side of the family." Draco explained as he thought back to the family tree.

"I know these things have proper titles depending on where you fall on the family tree so what does that make us?"

"Heck if I remember, so many different titles for people in a family depending on where the branch is, does it matter, we're cousins though. Family looks out for family." He said repeating what he had been told by his mother, he was still dubious about it in this regards but with the fact that he had been asked to try and make friends with Harry, he would play up on this part. "I'd better get going, I was just coming up to find out how you were and now I'm being drawn into some kind of conspiracy." Draco sighed in exasperation, "you can't do simple can you Potter?" He asked half-jokingly and half serious. Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"I wouldn't be me if I did." He admitted and Draco shook his head, standing up and walking out. "Get well soon Potter." He said with a final nonchalant wave over his shoulder before walking out.

Harry sat, thinking about everything that had happened this morning, someone had tried to kill him and it had left him in a coma for a month. There had been a break in at Gringotts, vaguely he could remember an article about it but nothing more than that and the Forbidden Corridor. Was it connected to him somehow? For now, he'd have to wait for the others to find out, it hurt to even simply move at the current time. He looked down at his hand, the finger that was missing. The same hand that Elizabeth had lost her finger. What did it mean? why would this be the thing that allowed her to train him fully? Everything that was going on was confusing him more. The more questions he had the less answers he got. And now there was this situation with Draco... He was his cousin? What the heck was going on. To the side of him, he heard a quiet groan of protest Elizabeth shifting on the bed, the light shining on her face as she grabbed her pillow, pulling it over her head. Still looking at her, he saw a blue eye looking back out through the gap of the pillow. "Morning Elizabeth." He said happily, as she slowly moved the pillow off her head. "You missed all of the fun."

"I heard, your friends are noisy." She muttered in annoyance, placing the pillow back under her head and looking at him properly. "But they each have a valid theory as to what happened. Hermione is right to suspect Snape, the man has demons in his past, ones that do directly involve you. I don't know what they are but they're there, I can't say anything about a Gringotts Vault being raided but it does seem like too much of a coincidence and the troll being let in, we keep getting questions to ask but no answers to give. But leave them to do the digging for now, you still need to recover." Elizabeth said rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling. "Ahh, I really don't know how Madam Pomfrey gets people out of here, these beds are so comfortable." She said with another sigh. "There was a bit of an investigation during the month that you were unconscious." Elizabeth started again, her voice quiet but carrying in the otherwise empty room, "less into the fall and more into the fact that you survived, no one knew where the water had come from, no one took credit for it and so the Professors tried to subtly ask around." Elizabeth continued with another sigh. "No one thinks it was me which is good though I think Ron may have just tipped that out into the open." She looked to Harry to see the confusion on his face. "When you're out, I'll demonstrate, I'll tell you everything that I've kept quiet because you're going to need it." Elizabeth explained and Harry nodded hesitantly. "The broom in question has largely been dismissed as a simple malfunction, they sent it back to the Broom Company to get it checked. Hopefully it should be back in time for your second game." She lifted her right arm up, stretching out her fingers, examining the thimble that was on her little finger. "Did I tell you that The Malfoy family had invited us to a Yule Ball?" Elizabeth asked, her own mind drawing a blank on the topic.

"No you didn't mention anything about that, they invited us? as in both of us? not just you?" Harry questioned in disbelief.

"They did, at least Narcissa invited us. But I don't think you're going to be back to good enough condition by that time so I've politely declined the invitation. She understood," Elizabeth paused thoughtfully, "though I would have been interested to go to it."

"Then why don't you? I don't mind." Harry said and Elizabeth waved it off with her raised hand.

"Because I can't leave you alone, the students go home tomorrow and nearly everyone else is going. Besides, I've rarely celebrated Christmas, it'd be nice to do that with my friend rather than a bunch of strangers." She replied honestly, letting her hand drop back down onto the bed with a dull thump.

HPCVHPCV

Draco was torn as he entered the Potions classroom to get to Professor Snape, the man was in his office attached to the room and Draco really didn't want to have this conversation. After all, Snape was his Godfather, he was a good man underneath the rough exterior that he showed, wasn't he? He stood in front of the door, hand reaching up to knock on it as he thought about the evidence that was there. Snape had been doing something, he didn't think Granger was lying, she had no reason to lie about it. But was the thing that he was doing really a counter curse or was he doing the curse? Draco didn't believe for an instant that Snape had been the one trying to kill Potter, as he said, it didn't fit his style. Not to mention there was the whole part about there being too many witnesses and too obvious as to what had happened even if no one was following up on it now.

He knocked on the door and waited.

"Enter."

He turned the handle, walking into the office, Snape sat behind his desk, looking at Draco a quirked eyebrow being the only indication of his curiosity. "Draco, you need something?" Snape asked calmly and Draco closed the door.

"I need to speak to you about something." Draco spoke quietly and quickly, unable to hide his nervousness.

"Draco, you know you can ask me anything and if I can tell you I will." Snape said his voice still a cool tone that almost sent a chill down Draco's spine.

"Fine, I'll ask it straight, did you Curse Potters broom in the Quidditch Match." Draco asked and he didn't know if it was Snape's shock at the question or the fact that Draco was making the accusation, but Draco didn't think he'd ever see the look of surprise on his face.

"Why do you ask about that?" Snape asked cautiously, getting quieter, his eyes focusing on him intently, trying to will the information out.

"Because there are people who believe that you are the one responsible for it." Draco explained, taking a seat opposite Snape. "they believe that you were casting the jinx on the broom that threw Potter off."

"And you believe these... people?" He asked.

"No! I don't believe it but I must ask. Mother sent me a letter, asking for information on how Potter was doing last night." He explained and again, there was a look of surprise on Snape's face. "I sent a letter back asking why she was concerned. I did not expect her response to me." Draco said holding out the letter to Snape.

Slowly, the Potions master took the letter, unfolding it, reading over the start of the letter quickly. "He's your cousin." Snape said simply.

"Mother has always said that we should stand by family, regardless of their beliefs, because in the end only family will stand by you through it all, regardless of differences. I'm asking you for anything you know because I am looking out for my cousin." Draco explained in a cautious tone. "Because I know that you have nothing to do with this or if you did it would be related to protecting him in this situation because even if you did hate him you wouldn't put yourself at risk like that and that regardless of the mask that you show to the world you're not a horrible person." Draco slipped into an almost pleading tone, his thoughts on the whole situation was confused, he shouldn't care about Potter, he was not his friend and it shouldn't matter that he was his cousin because of what he was to the Wizarding World. But that is what he was and it did matter, it brought feelings to Draco that he felt were only going to get in the way. Protect the family. He knew when he would be Head of the Malfoy family he would be expected to keep an eye and care for the other branches of the Malfoy family and he knew that if he could prove he was good at it now then he could only get better in the future.

Snape watched Draco out of curiosity, taking note of the clenched hands as he spoke, obvious that he was battling with himself and his own feelings and opinions as to how he would react. Snape let him stew for a moment before nodding his head, giving him an uncharacteristically warm smile, something he rarely showed outside of family and never to the rest of the world. "Your mother would be proud of you Draco." Snape started and the boy almost instantly relaxed. "You are correct, I was performing the counter jinx for the broom, but that is all I can tell you." Snape explained, "and although your... cousin might be getting involved in something, I'd advise you to take a step back and watch and think." He paused, studying Draco intently again, seeing the look of confusion on his face. "You are starting to become your own man, you will make connections that will shape further interactions and while Potter has been open to all, there are still those families out there that would like nothing more than to inflict pain upon him or anyone that he would consider a friend or ally. You would do well to see what happens as an outsider and if need be strike from the shadows. You are a Slytherin, we are known for our cunning and guile. Watch the situation and act when you need to, not just because you can." Snape explained and Draco nodded his head in understanding. "Potter will no doubt get involved in everything soon enough, make sure you look at everything from every angle before you act." Snape finished speaking, watching Draco.

Draco found himself confused even more, his Godfather not only didn't seem to show as much disdain for Harry as he had in lessons and was also seemingly more than happy to encourage the attitude that Draco was taking along as he was careful and thoughtful about the situation. "Thank you," Draco spoke honestly, unclenching his still clenched hands. "I knew you wouldn't have been involved."

"And how could you have been so certain?" Snape asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It wasn't your style; it wasn't subtle enough." Draco admitted and Snape smirked.

"Off with you Mr Malfoy, I'm sure you still have things to pack before you leave tomorrow." Snape said and Draco quickly left the room.

HPCVHPCV

The next morning, Harry had been released though he had required a crutch to properly get around. It was both a relief that he could get out of the Hospital Wing, the white walls were so dull to look at even if he had spent the day catching up on some of the school work that he'd missed. And someone told him that the Hospital was meant for resting and not studying. Elizabeth had excused herself in the evening, promising to return when he got let out in the morning, she had neglected certain things long enough and had gone to deal with whatever it was that she was doing.

But now, Harry was making his way down to Hogsmeade Station with the other students to say goodbye as they left for the winter holidays, or at least going as far as he could which was to the carriages that would take the rest to the station. Draco had been there early, before most other students had arrived and had walked off to one side to talk to Harry. "It's not Snape and I can give you my word on that." Draco said seriously and Harry nodded in acceptance.

"That's good to know, I'll keep an eye out on things, tell your mother thank you for me. I'm not used to people caring about my wellbeing... it was nice." Harry admitted quietly.

"My mother always said that Family comes first, you are family, even if you are a Potter." Draco said with a smirk before walking off to the carriage. He waited as others started to turn up. Hermione had hugged him then quickly got onto another carriage with promises to write him if she thought of anything while she was gone. Ron had stopped to talk to him briefly as well.

"I spoke to Fred and George." Ron started uneasily.

"What did they have to say?" He asked and Ron looked around to see if anyone was paying attention.

"They said to talk to Hagrid, talk to him about dogs." Ron replied evasively and Harry looked at him in confusion. "They wouldn't tell me more unless I went to the corridor myself. Sorry mate." Ron apologised and Harry waved it off.

"It's fine, that's more than we had before this all started... now I'm kind of curious as to what is in there." He said thoughtfully. "Have a Good Christmas." Harry said as Ron climbed into the carriage with Hermione.

Terry Boot was the next to arrive, a bag for the train slung over his shoulder. "You sure you don't want to come stay for the Holidays? My parents said you're free to stay." He said and Harry smiled, shaking his head.

"Thanks Terry, I appreciate the offer but not this time." Harry said politely, "tell them Merry Christmas from me though will you?" He asked.

"Of course I will, take care and rest, you need to be ready to win the next Quidditch Match." Terry commented jokingly and Harry rolled his eyes as the Ravenclaw joined Ron and Hermione.

"Have a good holiday Harry." Su said simply as she walked over, stopping momentarily to hug him. "Take care of yourself. You seem to be good at drawing attention."

"You too Su, thanks for all the help and everything." He said returning the hug while attempting to not drop the crutch. She let go of him and climbed in, the carriage now full, it started to roll forwards on its way to the train station. Harry watched it disappear and turned around beginning to make his way back up to the castle. As he did he walked past Professor Snape who was on his way out of the Castle.

"Potter." Snape said politely and Harry nodded his head.

"Professor," Harry started and Snape continued walking. Harry paused, looking back over his shoulder at the Professor that he had never gotten on with before and probably wouldn't in the future. "Oh, Professor Snape?" He called out.

Snape stopped, turning around to face him. "Yes, Mr Potter?"

"Thank you sir. Merry Christmas." Harry said, for a moment there was no reaction, no change in expression, nothing that would indicate that he had willingly listened to Harry before there was a slight nod of his head, the man turned moments later, his cloak flicking out behind him as he did walking out onto the grounds and off to wherever he was going for his Holidays. Harry climbed the stairs, making his way back to the Common Room, acutely aware of just how quiet it was now with the majority of students having gone for the Holiday, the click of his crutch on the stone floor echoed around him as he made his way.

He arrived at the entrance gave the answer to the riddle that the Raven doorknocker asked for and entered as the door swung open. "There you are." An exasperated voice called out as he entered. He looked in the direction it came from, standing by the steps that would lead to the boy's dorm, Elizabeth stood there, her arms folded. "You were gone before I got to the Hospital Wing, I thought you'd be back here before now." She said, walking over to him and looking at him carefully, "I've spoken to Professor Dumbledore and managed to convince him to let me take you away from here for a few days."

"Really? Where are we going?" He asked curiously and Elizabeth smiled secretively in response.

"You'll see and when we get there, I can start to explain everything to you." She said and then gently nudged Harry towards the stairs. "Pack for about three days. We shouldn't be gone any longer than that." She said, walking to the centre of the Common Room while she waited for him to go get ready. Harry quickly, or as quickly as he could, made his way up to his dorm room, a bag already waiting for him to pack stuff into. he leant the crutch against the bed as he opened the wardrobe, grabbing clothing, only now realising just how stiff his body was as he tried to quickly pack, almost losing his balance as he went to get a change of underwear. He cursed his own fragility at this point and grabbed the crutch again as he finished packing the bag and making his way downstairs.

Elizabeth stood off to one side, examining the bust of Rowena Ravenclaw that sat in the Common Room, there weren't any pictures of Rowena or any of the Founders in the School as far as she had found but there were several still artist recreations of what they were believed to look like. Though why none of them took advantage of the Bust being here to make a good portrait of Rowena was beyond her. She heard the clicking of the crutch as Harry came down the stairs and turned, walking over to meet him at the bottom. "You'll probably want to leave the robe Harry; we're going to be going to a non-magical location." She said and Harry did so, shaking off the robe that he was wearing, leaving him standing in just a plain red shirt and black trousers. "Time to leave." She said as the area in front of them shifted.

Harry looked around in amazement as he stepped through, they were in a room of some description, the floor was metallic, that much was obvious, there were heavy duty rugs on the floor and the walls were glass. But it was what was behind the glass that caught him completely off guard.

There was fish, there was water. there was a lot of water!

They were Underwater.

"Welcome to Rapture, Harry." She said as the tear closed behind them. the two walked forwards slowly and Elizabeth took his bag to allow him to steady himself. He looked at her in confusion.

"Where are we? What is Rapture?" He asked and she smiled, leading him down a corridor, deeper into the city.

"Welcome to the city under the sea."

TBC

This chapter is my shortest one so far for the story, not including the initial prologue but I felt it was a good place to stop.

Hope you enjoy

The next chapter: Christmas Rapture.

At this point, some of you are probably thinking about why she took him to Rapture, it has lots of bad memories for her after all. It's for a simple reason, she's going there so that she can definitively prove to him what her abilities are, it's out the way so that they can have their quiet conversation and she's chosen a very specific version of Rapture. More details on that next chapter. But for the moment Rapture is just being used as a backdrop, there won't be too much digging into it yet.


	9. Chapter 9: R&R

**Chapter 9: R &R**

 _Disclaimer: You know the routine by now, I don't own anything related to Harry Potter and Bioshock Infinite._

 _Rapture, the City under the Sea_

It was a mistake to bring him here. That was the only thought that was going through Elizabeth's head as she walked around the Tea Garden, Harry staying close to her as she did. Not for him, for him it was fine, he was amazed by everything that was here. To her it was like a waking nightmare. She was nowhere near where she had been before, she had known that, in fact this was a vastly different Rapture than the one she had been to before. She had made sure of that, no Atlas, no Fontaine, no Little Sisters and No ADAM! This was a Rapture that had none of that, this was a Rapture that never fell to corruption, one that was allowed to grow and be what it was designed to be. A haven to those that sought to escape the outside world and the machinations that the governments tried to enforce upon them.

She led him through the Tea Gardens, they were planning to stop for lunch here, her treat as he didn't have the required money for the place. "I still don't understand what or how this place came to be, how did we get out of Hogwarts?" Harry asked as Elizabeth guided him towards a chair at a table, helping him get sat down as she took the seat on the opposite side of the table.

"This is a location that could have existed, in the 1950's construction finished on this place, a man named Andrew Ryan saw the way the world was going and wanted to create a world that did not have to fear the censor, did not have to fear the outside force telling them what they could and could not do." She started to explain as a waitress came over.

"Is there anything I can get you?" She asked, her voice held a slight French accent to it and Elizabeth wondered whether it was a fake one to try and them the location or just that she had simply come from France somewhere.

"Two teas please." Elizabeth requested and the Waitress nodded, disappearing into the cafe itself to get the drinks. "Inherently, it's a good idea. A city where people are free to create without outside forces can bring so many innovations, can develop so many useful things." She smiled, there were good things to Rapture and there were good people here to, especially in this time. "This version, this is one that could have been, this is one that did not fall, that stayed true to its initial ideal instead of succumbing to corruption."

"What do you mean this version? is this more related to the Tears?" Harry asked quietly as the waitress returned with the cups. "Thank you." Harry said politely, taking his cup and placing it down on the table in front of him, the steam rising up from the cup as he continued to focus on Elizabeth and seeing the haunted looked that flashed in her eyes.

"Yes, remember what I said to you before, the tears were windows that showed what could be, what may have been, normally on a small scale?" She asked and he nodded his head, remembering the conversation on the first day that they had met. "That was just the tip of the Iceberg. When I was little, I could open them to anywhere, anytime, there was nothing that was kept from me if I wanted to do it." She smiled wistfully as she thought back to the time when she was a little girl, when she hadn't known what was really going on in the world, when she hadn't known the truth about Comstock. "I always thought they were some kind of Wish Fulfilment, I would travel and visit places that I'd never been before and get to do anything. I always returned home though, I always just felt myself called back to where I had left. As I grew older, the doors became harder to open and I was only able to open the windows and even then they took time and became harder and harder to open." She stopped, looking down at her drink, taking a deep breath as she tried to think back to those times.

"You don't have to tell me this." Harry said kindly, seeing how much discomfort she was in, he didn't want her to deal with things like this if they were causing her this much pain just to think about it.

"It's fine, I promised I'd tell you everything and that is what I'm going to do, but to truly understand we need to start at the beginning. My birth name isn't Elizabeth," she said already going for the first of the big bombshells. "When I was born, I was born as Anna DeWitt. My father was a man called Booker DeWitt, He had been a soldier and after that a Pinkerton before he got fired from that for being too extreme even for them." She said with disdain, "this was around the time I was born. He gave into drinking and gambling and racked up a hefty debt when he was approached with an offer." She stopped again taking several deep calming breaths. "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt."

The implication hit Harry like a brick straight away, there would only be one girl involved in this situation that they could possibly be referring to. "He gave you up? As payment for a debt?" Harry asked in disgust and Elizabeth sighed, nodding her head shakily.

"The man who took me from him was a man named Comstock, Zachary Hale Comstock." She continued biting back the vile taste she felt when she thought about him. "He was sterile and needed a child for his grand gesture, he found my father, broken by drinks and gambling and offered him the money to clear the debt if he gave me up. I don't know what my father was thinking but I want to believe he did it purely to make sure I lived a better life, a life that he couldn't support." She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket, dabbing lightly at her eyes as she felt them start to water while thinking about it. "Comstock came from another time, one where he was able to fund the research for Rosalind Lutece to create her machine which allowed her to open tears." Elizabeth paused again, watching Harry.

"So this power can be recreated through science?" Harry asked curiously and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"It's hard, it's expensive and it's unstable, through the use of these tears he was able to pass himself off as a prophet but they came at a price. He became sterile and riddled with cancer tumours. But he had seen something a future that his child would reign destruction and cleanse 'the Sodom below' and I was that child." She spoke sadly, "my father tried to get me back, he tried to stop them from taking me through the rift and that is how I lost my finger." She stopped, her mind flashing to the alternate Comstock, the one that she had chased to Rapture and the fate of the Anna which he had tried to take then. She shook her head, banishing the thoughts before she could dwell on them, it was a mistake coming here for her, but not for Harry, to see what could have happened in a world was something other than what he had experience, to visit a place that was so different to anything that he would possibly ever see. "This is the reason that the doorways open up for me. Because I am scattered into different dimensions, different times, Rosalind Lutece said it best when she described it as this: The Universe doesn't like mixing its peas with its porridge." She stopped again, waiting for Harry to process what she had told him, it was a lot to take in.

"So the pool you caught me in, that was something from another time or place?" Harry asked and Elizabeth nodded.

"It was another place in another reality, I had no intention of leaving part of you behind but it happened." She explained, reaching over and taking his hand. "I didn't want to place this burden on you Harry." She promised softly, "the ability to access this power is both a blessing and a curse, a horrible curse knowing what you can do but knowing the actions can go horribly wrong." She explained sadly, "Tell me, what do you think you could do with that power?" She asked and Harry looked thoughtful, trying to work out where she was going with that question. "Think personally, what could you do with that power? What have you wished for? What has been your desire growing up the way you did?" She asked question after question and Harry knew where she was going with it.

"You're referring to my parents aren't you?" Harry asked, knowing the answer before she spoke it, knowing that the power to go anywhere and at any time would essentially allow him to visit his parents and change it or bring them through to this dimension.

"Don't," Elizabeth spoke hollowly, "That door should stay shut Harry, to bring them through to current time would break their minds, to change the past by saving them wouldn't change what happened to you." She spoke and Harry tilted his head, looking at her with more confusion. "Think of a tree, the trunk of the tree is time, each branch is a choice made in that time and each twig and leaf is another action, each one coming off from the other," She started and he nodded in understanding. "If you were to save them, you wouldn't change your past, they would still be dead here, the difference is, that you would create a branch that would have them surviving. There are already plenty of them, an infinite number of them, this time just isn't one of them." She explained sadly. "in this timeline, they are resting in peace, they have passed on and it would be dangerous to mess with the natural order of things in that way." She explained knowingly. "When I was escaping Columbia, we needed to gain access to a place, but we couldn't without my 'mother's' handprint. She had passed away, years ago, murdered in fact by Comstock." She said and bit back the urge to shout in frustration at his actions. "I went to her tomb, she had been preserved in a glass coffin, I was going to remove her hand when my powers were forcefully activated, it brought her back but not as a person, not truly as a ghost either. She was something in between, an abomination that was created not just by what she was but also by the beliefs that I had, my own perspective of her." She explained and Harry stared in shock, to find that the girl had created a wraith in her attempts to... for lack of a better term, mutilate her dead mothers body. there was a growing sense of dread in his gut with regards to how she had acted.

"I won't try and raise them, I won't try and save them." Harry promised quietly and Elizabeth stopped talking, focusing on her cup of tea, not looking Harry in the eyes as she remembered those screams the wraith had made. "But why did you bring me here?" He asked, trying to shift the topic onto something slightly less depressing.

"Two main reasons for this place, this location, this time. The first was to show you my power, I could have taken you anywhere in the world, I had been tempted by Paris, I do love Paris." She paused, smiling wistfully as she thought about the City that she had visited after everything, even if it had only been for a while before other events happened, "but with the magical world having instant transportation from location to location, I knew it had to be somewhere unique that I took you, somewhere that didn't exist in your reality. If we had just simply gone to Paris then what I could do, could easily be dismissed as another form of magical transportation and I wanted to show you real proof. The second reason was to give you a chance to escape the Magical World for a few days, to let you rest away from the portraits watching your every move, to take you away from the castle and to truly show you how your powers will manifest over time, I am going to teach you when they fully start to awaken. I don't know how long it will take, but when it does, I don't want you to accidentally do something like dump everyone in the North Pole or something with you being unaware of how the powers work." She joked and Harry snorted. "Don't laugh it could happen. I should tell you about the first time I started using the power… actually lets not, that was embarrassing." She joked playfully and Harry started chuckling. "After you've got yourself under control we're heading to the hotel. I've booked rooms for us, don't ask about the planning behind trying to organise it all, just know that I have... it gets confusing." She mock whispered the last bit to him. "Then we can head around, take a look at the shops, see what we can find, for all we know, you may be able to find some new Christmas items that you want." She finished her drink, smiled at Harry, standing up and heading off inside to pay.

Harry sat calmly, his mind working on what he had been told. There were an infinite number of doorways and he had been given the key to unlock them all. He looked down at his hand, looking at the missing part of his finger. Something so simple unlocking so much. He pulled himself to his feet, grabbing his crutch as Elizabeth walked back out. "That's that all paid for. Let's go." She said walking over to him, hooking his other arm with hers as they walked slowly through the garden area. It's amazing isn't it? What they managed to do down here." She gestured with her hand to the trees that had been brought down with the city, kept alive through artificial lights, helping keep the constant level of Oxygen in the city. Without these trees the people down here would have probably suffocated a long time ago." She explained as they walked across the grass. They walked through a door that lifted as they came up to it, a sign advertising the Atlantic Express. "We'll need to travel to a different section of the city for the Hotel, this will be the quickest way there." She explained, leading him towards what looked like a submarine attached to heavy duty metal beams that ran forwards and into the water. "One adult and one child ticket please." She said as they approached the Ticket Booth, the man behind the glass looking bored but nodded his head getting the tickets as Elizabeth dug out the money. She took the tickets, the barriers opening up to let them through. "Between me and you, I don't think I'm going to get used to referring to myself as an adult, definitely not for a few years at least." She joked as they entered the transit system. On board, there were already several people waiting for the train to depart, the two of them sitting at the front with Elizabeth making sure that Harry got to sit next to the window. "To truly appreciate Rapture, you need to see it as you would if you had come from the outside." Elizabeth spoke as the vehicle started moving, slowly at first as it dropped into the water, making its way along the tracks.

Harry watched out the window, fascinated as he saw the bright lights that illuminated the ocean floor from various hubs of Rapture, he saw a sign that advertised a night club, a restaurant, a new art gallery, so many signs, so well illuminated that it allowed him to see the fish that swam through the ocean around the buildings. "How did they manage to build this?" He asked Elizabeth, tearing his view away from the outside to look at her.

"I don't know the full details, from what I believe, they built hubs in sections above water and then lowered them down to the ocean floor, it was a lot of work and very dangerous." She explained before glancing around making sure none of the others in the train were paying attention to them "In this time and place, the Utopia stayed true to its ideals, this is what Rapture should have been if the human factor had been marginalised."

"The human factor?"

"A philosophy to live by is only as good as the people who act upon it. In Rapture, the result was nearly always the same, the people who had kept from those that didn't because they had earnt it and they were not given to charity, there was no public funding on anything, people who were either unable to support themselves which in a way was true to the philosophy that it was built on but that inherent hostility and corruption broke it. That and the criminal element led by a man named Fontaine..." She trailed off, sighing sadly.

"Elizabeth..." Harry said looking at her. She turned to face him and he gestured to her face looking slightly panicked. "Your nose is bleeding." He said in shock.

Elizabeth stared for a second, lifting her hand to her noise feeling the warmth of the blood from her nose, she pulled her hand back looking at the blood on her fingers looking confused and shocked. "No, this shouldn't be happening." Elizabeth muttered, quickly grabbing her handkerchief and dabbing at the blood. "This happens to those that are pulled through but not... why is this happening? is it because I'm here? I know what happened here," she continued muttering to herself thinking of what happened. "Was this a mistake coming here?" She asked in concern before schooling her features, making sure that Harry saw that she was calm. "Sorry, a bit of a panic for a second." She tried to dismiss it but he was already looking at her with doubt. "I'm fine Harry, it's an effect I wasn't expecting to happen to me, when a person is pulled into another dimension or time their mind tries to make sense of it all, during the escape from Columbia I had to travel to multiple variations of Columbia to organise things so we could escape. We went from one where we had just fought and killed soldiers into a time where they were alive, their minds couldn't comprehend what was truly going on. In an attempt for them to understand it, the mind of the subject will desperately struggle to create memories where none exist. At least that's what the Lutece Twins explained. It's why these nosebleeds happen. But it shouldn't happen to me." She admitted and pointed at Harry. "And it shouldn't happen to you either, the others are pulled through forcefully, we are able to open the door and walk through without much of a concern." Elizabeth explained and Harry nodded slowly, a look of concern on his face. "Harry, I'm okay, it's going to be fine." She ruffled his hair appreciatively and he grumbled, trying to bring a small bit of order to the chaos that was his hair. She laughed at his reaction and the two fell into a pleasant quiet as they continued on their way.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

At Hogwarts, all was not well, Dumbledore was confused about something and it related to the Boy-Who-Lived and the new Assistant. He knew they were friends and he had no problem with that, in fact, it warmed his heart for Harry to have made such a strong bond already. What confused him was how they had left the School.

No one knew.

They had been witnessed entering the Ravenclaw Common room separately but neither exited. He had asked Professor Flitwick to investigate and the diminutive Charms Professor had returned and informed him the Common Room was Deserted.

So where did they go?

Part of him worried that Elizabeth had been placed to try and get Harry, to take him away from the safety of Hogwarts and kill him. But that part was stopped by the rational part, if she had truly been a threat to him then there would have been more suitable times to act to kill him before they had come to the School if she was truly a threat that is. So he'd speak to one person, a person that knew the two even if they hadn't interacted as much since they came to Hogwarts: Bathsheda Babbling. She would know more, she had been quite secretive about what these Tears were that she had witnessed when the runes had woken Elizabeth,

a knock on the door. Dumbledore looked up from the paperwork that he had been meaning to do but had been distracted by thoughts about Harry. "Enter." He called out and the door opened, Bathsheda entering. "Ah Professor Babbling." Dumbledore greeted kindly.

"Headmaster," She responded just as kindly as she sat down. "You wanted to see me about something?" She asked as he held out the dish of Lemon Drops that sat on his desk. "I'm fine thank you," she politely refused and he placed the dish on his desk again, taking one of the sweets for himself.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, something I'm curious to learn more about. When Elizabeth first awoke, you mentioned about these 'tears' opening up during the process." Dumbledore spoke and she nodded her head cautiously. "I was wondering if you'd be able to explain them some more?" He questioned gently, the brief explanation that he had been given by McGonagall was vague and left more questions than answers, Elizabeth had spent more than a month with Bathsheda so if someone knew what was going on with the tears it had to be her.

"What do you know already?" She asked trying to find a base on where to start.

"Only what Minerva has told me. They are... windows I think she said, to what could have been, an alternate dimension I believe is the words that she said were used to describe them." Dumbledore explained and Bathsheda nodded.

"From the way they were explained to me, they are things that could have been, a difference here or there, sometimes miniscule, like a different colour table a different flavoured sweet on your desk instead of your infamous lemon drops." She smiled at the slightly silly expression that crossed Dumbledore's face at the mere thought of his lemon drops being gone. The man had an addiction and it wasn't anything dangerous, but heaven forbid you get in the way of his lemon drops. "Others are bigger, when we visited the Dursley's she told me that she could have pulled through an alternate version of the house, she could have forcefully shown them what life would have been like if Harry had never turned up." Bathsheda explained, thinking back to the meeting with the Dursley's.

"She really threatened that?" Albus asked in concern, to threaten another person was bad enough but to turn their entire world upside down?

"No, she didn't, she didn't do anything except take Harry off their hands until next summer." Bathsheda quickly explained, "afterwards, when we were returning to the house she told me and I told her to keep it quiet." Bathsheda explained without regret. "even from you." She added knowingly.

"Myself? my dear, do you trust me so little?" He asked in confusion, trying to work out what he had done to offend Bathsheda to the point that she would keep secrets from her.

"That's not it in the slightest, I asked her to keep it quiet because what you know, eventually everyone knows and not because you would tell but because one of these portraits will blab." She spoke with a sweeping gesture to the Portraits that surrounded the office, "they're everywhere, in your office, scattered throughout houses across the country, in St Mungo's in the Ministry." She continued on barely stopping other than to lower her arm. "What do you think would happen if they knew, how long do you think they could keep it a secret? The only reason I'm telling you this is because I can tell you've already set spells to stop them hearing this conversation."

"Keep what a secret?"

"You're going to find out eventually, she can see, Headmaster." She said seriously and Dumbledore found himself smiling slightly.

"I am well aware of her being able to see, her eyes do seem to work perfectly fine." Dumbledore joked and Bathsheda couldn't help but laugh even if the joke had been terrible, the unexpected nature of it just caught her off guard.

"Well, she can see that way as well, but what I'm talking about is the ability to _**see**_ everything. She's a seer or at least something like that and she can tap into it to pull things through to reality." Bathsheda explained, getting it off her chest about Elizabeth. It had gnawed at her to keep it quiet, to keep the secret from people who were good people but it hadn't really been her place to tell, even now, she knew she didn't want to tell but with the way the investigation into how Harry survived, the answer would come out now.

"So with Mr Potter?" Dumbledore asked, the pieces starting to fall together.

"With Harry and his survival, she was definitely involved, not in harming him but keeping him alive, you no doubt heard about the... pond that opened up below him that kept him from turning into paste on the ground?" She stopped for a second, waiting for his nod to continue. "That would have been her. In fact, I know it was her. I asked her myself after the incident, she opened the area a pool of water that was meant to be a lot bigger but she got knocked, it threw her focus off and she only managed the small body of water and only just managed to get him out in time before it closed though you saw the results of that." She said quietly. "Part of his finger is gone and magic doesn't seem to want to let us grow it back." She said, telling Dumbledore what he already knew in regards to the finger.

"Do we know why it can't be grown back?"

"No idea, Elizabeth was clueless about that as well." Bathsheda said with a slight shrug. "As far as we've been able to tell, Magic still believes it's a part of him, just not here." She explained the way that Elizabeth had guessed.

"What does this mean for Harry in the long run?" Dumbledore asked in concern, everything he had done had been for the boy, placing him with his Muggle family to protect him from the enemies that would have tried to kill him, the ignorance that while many would consider cruel, to not know why someone went after you was for him to enjoy life as a child without worrying about someone hunting for his blood and constantly looking over his shoulder.

"In all honesty I don't know, Elizabeth doesn't want to or can't share the results behind her capabilities, although I'm curious I won't push her to find out more it's not my place to ask." Bathsheda stated and Dumbledore nodded his head.

"I will not push her into revealing her past, but I do have to ask, do you trust her?" Dumbledore asked seriously, that was the key part, he was willing to trust his staff until they stepped too far, so far she had been a model employee, albeit the slight hiccup with her staying in the Hospital Wing all that time but he could let that slide, to care for a friend that much was definitely something to praise not punish.

"I trust her, we've spoken, spoken about a lot of things but I can assure you that even though she has skeletons in her closet, we won't be seeing them here, there will be no harm brought about by her past." Bathsheda explained with a finality that made Dumbledore nod. "Do we have any indication where she and Harry have gone?" Bathsheda asked, Dumbledore shook his head, "shame, I was hoping you'd know, I know they'll be back in three days but I will not lie, I am curious as to where they've gone," Bathsheda finished, glancing around the room at the portraits and artefacts on the bookshelf, many of which seemed to have stopped moving from the last time that she had been here. "Your devices... are they broken?"

"They are linked to Mr Potter, tools to make sure that he was healthy when he was with his Aunt and their family." At this point, with the amount of involvement Bathsheda had with Harry, she would find out eventually, "they are designed that if he is anywhere in the world, they would monitor his health, nothing invasive I hasten to add, just enough to keep track without being intrusive." Dumbledore quickly placated, seeing the look of surprise and annoyance on Bathsheda's face, knowing it would be a tricky thing to talk about but at the same time knowing that she would be better off hearing it.

"So, because they're not working it means he's out of range?" Bathsheda asked slowly, keeping a tight rein on her patience and self-control it would not do to explode at her boss at this time. He was essentially spying on Harry, regardless of how much he tried to claim they were not invasive, they were designed to monitor and watch him and that interfered with his privacy, to put it bluntly, in her eyes, it was wrong.

"The fact that they are not working indicates that he is not anywhere on Earth. The range of these spells aren't tied to a nearby focus. They should in theory work wherever he is located on the planet even if it doesn't give me a location." Dumbledore continued to explain, "These should show the condition of his health, they should still be functioning but alas as you can see they are not."

"So, if they can't find him he's not on Earth?" Bathsheda asked dubiously. "Or has there just been some way to hide them from the effects of the spell?" She asked and Dumbledore didn't respond. "Either way, I do not believe that he is in any danger, they will return and then I am sure you can ask Elizabeth herself when she comes back."

"Thank you Bathsheda, I appreciate you telling me what you can." Dumbledore said politely and Bathsheda nodded, getting up from her chair, turning to walk out the room and then stopping.

"Oh one more thing Headmaster." She said, fishing a piece of paper out of her pocket, "there is one more thing that I stumbled across while studying those runes." She walked back to the desk, placing the folded piece of paper onto the table. "There was one rune that I've only just managed to decipher, the results are there, if you feel you need to know open it, but I request one thing... do not act on it without knowing the truth." And with that she left, leaving Dumbledore to look at the folded-up piece of paper, wondering what kind of Pandora's Box could be opened next.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

The night had passed quietly, it was a strange feeling that Harry had, sleeping in the hotel room hearing the difference of the gentle breeze in the evening in comparison to the dullness of sounds brought about by the water against the glass window. To be underwater like this was an interesting experience to say the least.

They had arrived at the hotel, it was later than they expected by the time that they had arrived he had felt drained, his body still healing and it had left him exhausted. Elizabeth had booked two rooms for them to stay at, next to each other and even one of those hotel rooms that had a linked door. He remembered his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon talking about a hotel room like that after they had come back from one of their vacations, they had complained about it because of the 'risk to their privacy' but at this point it had been something that would allow them to easily sort out what they were going to do. In the morning she wanted to head to an area called Fort Frolic, apparently it was an area dedicated to music and the performing arts. She wanted to explore it and he was more than happy to go along with it as well. She knew the area although he wasn't clear on how she knows the area. He didn't want to push her because although he was curious he had seen her freak out.

And if it was enough to cause her to freak out, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what had caused it to happen. But at the same time, she knew more about his past than he did about hers. Was that fair? Not really but at the same time, Harry knew that fairness didn't always come into it.

He sighed, standing up from where he had sat on the bed, the crutch discarded to one side as he hobbled over to the window, his body aching against every moment. he leant against the wall, staring out into the water watching the fish swim by, smiling slightly as they continued their life, probably a bit changed because of the underwater city but not turned completely upside down, like his was slowly becoming. Things had changed so much since he had learnt the truth and it had barely been five months since the truth had been revealed to him. He learnt the truth about his parents, that they had been murdered, not killed in a car crash and that he had survived by chance, there were so many things he wanted to know still in that regards, how could he have survived something that killed everyone else. Elizabeth had made a valid point in that regards. What made his mother's sacrifice so special in comparison to every other parent who died for their child? It didn't add up and it didn't make sense. The notion that it was because other parents didn't love their child was a stupid notion, there had to have been something else.

 _Or perhaps it didn't happen like they claim, there were no witnesses after all_

The voice in the back of his, his rational part kicked in, trying to think of alternate solutions, it was something that made sense. If the Killing Curse wasn't the thing to strike him then something else must have done it. That left only one question.

What?

And now another curve ball had been thrown his way, finding Elizabeth had been an accident, if Dudley had never chased him that day he would have never entered the house, if he had never entered the house he would have never stumbled across the room and if he had never stumbled across the room then she would have still been trapped there, in that glass container until someone else had come across. he leant forwards, resting his brow on the cool glass as he thought. Now there was something else going on in the School, his broom had been cursed and it had almost killed him, it would have killed him if it wasn't for Elizabeth. And before that, there was the Troll Incident, he had tried to make his way there, he knew that Hermione wouldn't know about the troll but had been stopped by the ever vigilant Ravenclaw Prefects before he could escape and practically frog marched back to the Common Room. There were too many things going on that needed to be worked out.

But this power he had access to, it was something that to be honest, he hadn't thought about the potential behind it, at least not until this evening, with Elizabeth explaining its true power, a doorway to anywhere and anytime. With that at his fingertips, what could he do with it. It was a power he wasn't sure he wanted and at the same time he was almost brimming with excitement to try it out, to see what happens. He yawned, tiredness from the day catching up with him, lifting his head off the window, looking at the imprint that had been left on the surface. He'd think about it later, for now, rest and tomorrow... A whole new world to explore.

He limped back over to the bed, sliding back under the sheets and closing his eyes, unaware of the door that joined his with Elizabeth's clicking shut as he fell asleep.

Elizabeth had heard him moving about, she was concerned for his health both physically and mentally. Everything that had happened to him, everything that the Lutece seemed to imply would happen to him or could happen to him. There was no question in her mind. Until the problem was solved, she would keep an eye on him. Help him face the challenges and the trials that were to come. She would talk more about the powers tomorrow. For now, like him, she was tired and needed to sleep.

Closing her eyes, she quickly fell into a restless sleep, dreams of when she had last come to Rapture, dreams of Columbia, dreams of things she wished to forget. Living Nightmares that followed her onwards and she wondered if she'd ever truly escape them.

The next day brought about shopping, both clothing and music, Harry had found himself drawn to the music, he had heard a lot of music played by the CD player that Dudley owned, but it was nothing that truly caught his attention, half the time he had been dubious that it could be called music, it sounded like a lot of loud noise mangled together. Harry found himself pulled more towards orchestral styles of music, classical, and others along that variety although he wouldn't admit it he found himself with a guilty pleasure in music that would be classed as cheesy pop music. He wasn't going to admit that last part publicly to anyone... ever but it was there. He had picked out some music, and Elizabeth also bought a few things as well before they had moved on, Elizabeth directing him to a clothes store, he let himself get pulled along but didn't really want to go into the store, letting her take a look around by herself as he waited, sat on a bench outside with their bags. He had a book open in his lap, reading it slowly as he waited for Elizabeth. "Only you could be in an entirely different and unique place and still end up reading a book." She teased lightly, holding a bag in her hand as he looked up.

"Well I did say I'd wait for you here, not really able to go anywhere so may as well read." He replied and She laughed, messing up his already messy hair.

"Don't ever change Harry." She said as they continued their walk, continuing down the street, stopping every now and again to look into windows of stores to see if anything caught their interest.

"Elizabeth?" Harry spoke, hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Elizabeth replied with a slight hum as she looked away from the window of a Photography shop, pictures of people that had visited the store and from events that had happened around the city of Rapture hung up to show the quality of the photos.

"You said you could go anywhere and anytime." He started slowly, taking a quick look around to see if people were paying attention but thankfully it seemed that those who were around were more preoccupied by their own conversations and last minute Christmas shopping. "When you said anytime, did you mean the future as well? How does that even work?" He asked and Elizabeth frowned as she thought about the question being asked.

"The future is a tricky thing, there is no set path as to how it might unfold, there are fixed points, they always happen, they have always happened and they will always happen." She explained slowly, trying to work out herself what the best way to describe it was. "Time is strange to put it simply, it will have fixed points that must come to pass but how they come to pass varies, you would in theory create the event at the point of your arrival but everything else before then would have happened as if you had not been there if you understand what I'm trying to say." Elizabeth explained and Harry stared at her blankly. "Simple way... simple... Ah, I know, picture this point as Point A, where we are here and now, you walk through a doorway to point C, somewhere down the line, say only a small jump like the time it would have taken you to walk to the end of the street." She pointed down the end at the Bathysphere terminal. "In the time it takes you to get there, we have Point B, that gap would still happen but it's events will be shaped without you there, it is essentially a 'what would happen if you were not there' you could only see the effects of that after you arrive at Point C." She tried to keep it simple and she hoped it would work, "Going back to the tree analogy, just because you're not there, the branches are still growing, this one would be its own separate branch of 'point a to c minus Harry Potter' if you understand what I'm trying to say." She stopped again to look at him to see a glimmer of understanding. "Like I said, it gets confusing and throws out so many rules that like magic, even when you think you know what it is, it still throws you completely off balance." She comforted and the two continued their walk.

HPCVHPCV

It was a tired but more relaxed Harry and Elizabeth that returned, on the third day, weighed down with bags from the shopping that they had purchased, reappearing in the deserted Ravenclaw Common Room and quickly placing their bags down on to the sofa. "I suppose I should let Dumbledore know that we are back. No doubt he has questions as to where we were, if for nothing else other than curiosities sake." Elizabeth said as she dropped undignified into the soft chair sitting by the fire. "I think I'll do that in the morning." She said with a tired dismissal. "Harry, what do you plan to do now with what you've learnt?" She asked as Harry sat in the adjacent chair, running a hand through his hair as he thought about the situation.

"With these... powers?" He asked and she nodded, "at the moment I plan to do nothing, I can't see them consistently to do anything, when I find them, who knows. There's so much in the world that I'd like to see and do, so many things the Dursley's kept from me." He smiled at the thought of just opening a door to somewhere in the world and just walking out, away from all things Dursley related this summer. "But I want to stay here, learn magic, make my parents proud." He said seriously.

"Harry, I don't think they could be any prouder of you," Elizabeth replied kindly. "You've done so much, endured so much and you're still a good person. Many lesser men would have broken with even half the things you have dealt with already."

"Then there's the more recent problem, who tried to kill me, why did they try to kill me? What is the secret that's going on in this School?" Harry asked curiously as he stared at the fire.

"Trolls, death corridors, bank thefts... which may or may not be related to these situations. So, what do you plan to do?" She was willing to step back, let him come up with an idea, she'd guide him, she'd mentor him and she would be a friend, but she wasn't going to try and hijack his life and lead him through everything. Let him make his decisions and she would step in if he went too far out of line.

"Talk to Hagrid, that's what was suggested, which means the thing behind the door has to be an animal of some sort." Harry said thoughtfully, remembering a discussion he had heard between the older students regarding the Groundskeeper and his love of dangerous animals. "Something to guard something." He took a thoughtful guess, "if the bank heist happened and failed and the item in question was here, then the creature must be guarding it."

"Assuming they're connected." Elizabeth pointed out and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Assuming they're connected." He repeated with a nod of his head, "Though I have no doubt that they are." Harry added and she laughed and nodded slightly.

"Going off your current luck, there is no doubt about it." She said and the two continued to talk until the early hours of the morning, until they eventually fell asleep in the chairs that they had been sat in.

The next morning, Harry and Elizabeth had gone their separate ways, Harry to Hagrid's Hut, to ask him what he knew, Elizabeth had been summoned to the Headmasters office so they had said their goodbyes and had agreed to compare notes.

Harry trudged through the snowy grounds, cursing the cold after coming from the warmth of Rapture, the city had to be very carefully regulated in public areas, the pipes ran deep sea water which was cold enough to freeze if it wasn't properly monitored so it was generally warmer all year around there, at least that was the explanation that Harry had been given when he had spoken to a few people there. They had been happy to explain to him about the City, the man in question Bill McDonagh had taken great pride in telling Harry about the work that had gone into it. The man took pride in his work, anyone who looked at him as he spoke could tell that.

And now here Harry was, making his way through the deep snow down to a wooden hut that was inevitably going to be freezing cold. He arrived, looking at the building and stepped up onto the step in front of the door, lifting his hand and knocking on it politely. Inside he could hear the barking of a dog and he braced himself, "back Fang, get back!" Hagrid called from behind the door and the sound of scuffling as the door was pulled open to see Hagrid standing there, his grip on the collar of the large dog. "Oh, Harry, I didn't expect to see you... was meaning to send you a letter at some point inviting you down but then the Quidditch incident... nasty bit of business that, come in, come in." The giant of a man said politely, pulling Fang back, "come on fang, get back, let him in you beast." He said to the dog that still tried to get to Harry, "don't worry, he won't harm you, he's just a bit excitable." Hagrid warned as Harry stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Now, what can I do for you Harry?" He asked as he let go of a now slightly calmer Fang.

"I wanted to talk to you about animals," Harry said simply "and I heard you were here when my parents were and I was wondering if you had any stories about them, I keep hearing about them but not about them if you know what I mean."

"I do, I do, terrible thing what happened to them, great people your parents were." The man frowned sadly though it was hard to tell with his bushy hair, beard, and eyebrows. "Take a seat, I've just brewed a pot of tea..." Hagrid turned, moving into the kitchen area as Harry took a seat at the dining table. Hagrid seemed a nice enough person and everyone had said that he was a good person to know, kind and friendly to all. Harry was looking forward to talking to him.

At the same time that Harry was talking to Hagrid, Elizabeth was up in Dumbledore's office, she was at patiently, waiting for him to start the conversation, he was looking at her intently trying to understand more about her. "Miss DeWitt..."

"Please, call me Elizabeth, Headmaster." Elizabeth offered politely and he nodded his head.

"Then you can call me Albus," they hadn't really spoken much since she had started and he did regret that, from what he had learnt while she had been here, she had been nothing but helpful to any and all who asked. She had ideas that were less conflicting with the different social sectors of the group, understanding the need for change but understanding that tradition was also important. The only negative that had arisen had been the argument between herself and Severus, but here she was as asked and from the looks of it willing to talk. "I need to ask you a couple of questions about the past three days that you departed the grounds with Mr Potter." He spoke calmly and paused to offer her a Lemon Drop.

"Oh thank you." Elizabeth said politely, taking a sweet and placing it into her mouth, her nose scrunching at the initial taste of it. "What did you need to ask?" She asked.

"There are two important questions that I need to ask of you, the first one is a security concern in regards to the school, it is how you left on your excursion." Dumbledore questioned focusing on the simplest aspect at first. "You were seen by the portraits entering the Ravenclaw Common Room but you never exited. concern was raised when you never left and Professor Flitwick went in himself to look for you two." He explained and Elizabeth cringed slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't think that anyone would have been paying that much attention to when we left." She admitted with a slight blush, "I can guarantee that it isn't a threat to the School, it is something that only myself and possibly in the future Harry can do." Elizabeth explained, her mind going over the ways that she could keep this as quiet as possible as the portraits in the room were paying close attention to the conversation.

"This has something to do with these Tears does it not?" Dumbledore asked and Elizabeth nodded, this was going to be a long, roundabout talk. Time to see how good her evasive answers really were when pushed to the test.

While Elizabeth was dreading her conversation, Harry was enjoying his, Hagrid was a lot smarter and knowledgeable about things than his accent and appearance would otherwise present to others, especially when he talked about the animals that he cared for. "Hagrid, I've been meaning to ask someone," Harry started up hesitantly trying to appear nervous about it but at the same time he generally was nervous, he didn't want to offend the man who had been kind enough to him already and apparently had wanted to come and be the one to introduce him to Hogwarts and magic in its entirety. "I got a bit turned around, near the forbidden Third Floor Corridor."

"Harry, you shouldn't be anywhere near there, it's forbidden for a reason." Hagrid said chidingly, "It's dangerous to be there, you heard Professor Dumbledore back in the Opening Feast." He reminded and Harry nodded.

"I know that Hagrid, I got turned around, it was shortly before Halloween but with all the chaos that followed there, I didn't get a chance to ask someone about it. I heard something moving in there, an animal if I had to guess and it was big." Harry said and Hagrid frowned.

"Look Harry, leave well enough alone, it doesn't concern you what's behind there." Hagrid said with a seriousness and Harry nodded his head.

"Albus, can I ask you a question?" Elizabeth asked as she looked around the room, it felt strange to refer to him by his first name but he has asked so she would do it.

"You can ask, but whether or not I can give you the answer depends on the question." He said politely.

"Why was You-Know-Who after Harry?" She questioned looking at the moving devices on the bookcase.

"Ah, alas, the first question you ask is one I cannot tell you." Dumbledore spoke pleasantly though there was a slight edge to it, almost undetectable but it was there. "I have theories as to why he went after the Potters but without proof I'd rather not say, it does not do to dwell on that for now and forget to live our lives. Though I assure you, if I ever do find the full reason, I will make sure to let Mr Potter know." Dumbledore said and Elizabeth nodded with reluctance, she felt something off with that answer, the look he gave her told more than he probably realised.

"I understand, but to follow on that, what is with the Forbidden Corridor?" She asked bluntly and Dumbledore smiled a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm concerned that it'll be a threat to the school either from something within or something from outside the School."

"You have nothing to fear Miss DeWitt," he said reverting to her last name for a reason that Elizabeth couldn't decipher. "The third floor has plenty of protections on it to both protect the students from their own curiosity and to keep 'outside' forces out. I assure you that as long as I am headmaster here, I will not let anything happen to my students if I can avoid it."

"And what about when you leave for something, you are head of several different governmental bodies aren't you?" She asked and Dumbledore conceded the point with a nod.

"Rest assured." Dumbledore started in a tone that would brook no opposition. "My first thoughts are to the health and wellbeing of every student and staff member that is in this school, the subject of the Third Floor Corridor is closed." Dumbledore said with finality and Elizabeth nodded.

"Fine, I just hope you realise that this situation is playing with fire and like you I'm concerned about the safety of the students. I hope they don't get burned in the process of containing this fire."

"I've looked after lots of animals Harry," Hagrid spoke happily as Harry tried a new tactic while talking to Hagrid, "The School has a lot of them in the Forest and I help Professor Kettleburn take care of some of the more excitable ones. The thing about these creatures is that a lot of them are smarter than people give credit for. Many wizard has been hurt because they didn't respect that."

"What's the most dangerous creature that you've handled?" Harry asked in genuine curiosity, growing up muggle he had only heard the old fairy tales about magic and they were frowned upon by the Dursley's because they didn't fit in their small and narrow definition of 'normal.'

"Well... other than Fluffy, I've taken care of Acromantula's, think big spiders." Hagrid started, "the Thestrals are quite a handful at times as well," Hagrid mused and Harry picked up on Fluffy but thought about the subject at hand.

"Anything that you'd like to look at, there's so many magical creatures out there, anything that you'd want?" Harry asked and Hagrid practically beamed as he replied.

"Dragons, I'd love to own a dragon," He admitted, "they're fantastic creatures, I'd love to raise one." He said quite happily.

"You mentioned Fluffy as a dangerous creature... doesn't sound so dangerous with a name like that." Harry commented and Hagrid chuckled.

"Perhaps," he admitted with a chuckle before continuing "but don't let names fool you Harry, Fluffy can be a bit of a handful, Cerberuses aren't easy animals to tame." He said proudly and then winced. "I shouldn't have told you that." He admitted with a slight frown.

"Hagrid, you don't have to worry, I have no intention of going anywhere near Fluffy or the door too Fluffy at all." Harry promised and he was serious, he really didn't want to or plan to go there, he was just working on trying to solve what the puzzle was. It had caught his interest and now he wanted to solve it and not interfere in whatever Dumbledore was planning.

Hagrid changed the topic away from beasts, back to events and pranks that Harry's dad had gotten up to back in school. content with what he had found out Harry sat back in the chair, cup of tea in hand and listened to the stories of his parent's past.

TBC

Another chapter done, like I said, Rapture was a very small part of this, it was largely to go there to give a living example of Elizabeth's powers instead of having her just talk about it, which she still ended up doing but with the proof around her instead of just sitting in Hogwarts and talking. But I will say this is not the last time Rapture will appear. I have plans for the sunken city… and the floating one as well.

To the guest reviewer in regards to why Rapture as the location the two went to. I hope I explained it enough in this chapter with their discussion. In a world of magic, transporting someone to another place that they actively know about that hasn't really changed, like Paris wouldn't have been nearly as convincing then taking him to a location that doesn't actually exist. To the majority of people looking at her taking someone to a different place that they know about, it'd just look like a new form of magical travel and no more questions would really be asked. Instead she took him to Rapture which not only has no connection to Magic, it was also different enough and that big of a change that it would be more convincing as she talked about her ability.

As for the other statement in regards to pairings. I have no intention of pairing an eleven year old Harry with a twenty year old Elizabeth. I do have a few ideas for pairing but to be honest, I'm not even sure that there will be a main pairing. It's still up in the air and if any pairing does happen it would be further down the road.

Concerning future updates: I will be updating as normal the next couple of weeks but I will not be updating Christmas weekend and New Years weekend. After that, its back on track with the weekly updates.

Thanks for all the author alerts, story alerts and favourites. Each one is doing a great step to helping me deal with a couple of personal problems at the moment and they are all very much appreciated. Every review I get is also an added bonus, negative reviews just as well because it helps me think more on the story, makes me question if I need to change or edit things to clarify like the Hogsmeade Chapter, it helps me get better and I'm always happy to discuss ideas though if you do want me to respond I ask you to sign in because I want to try and avoid become one of those stories where the authors notes at the end are almost as long as the chapter itself.

Once again, thanks everyone for the feedback and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	10. Chapter 10: Christmas Reflections

**Chapter 10: Christmas Reflections**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Bioshock or Harry Potter each of them belong to their respective owners._

 _"Christmas Time"_

The song started on the radio, Harry groaned as he pulled the pillow over his head. Whoever had left that Radio in the dorm room was going to suffer if he had anything to say about it.

 _"Mistletoe and Wine."_

Oh wait, they weren't here. Harry realised that in annoyance and reached out of his bed, grabbing one of his shoes and throwing it in the direction of the radio. He smiled into his pillow as he heard the smash of the object being hit and then falling to the floor. "Peace and Quiet." He muttered closing his eyes again, he wasn't in a rush to get up, he wasn't expecting anything to arrive for him, he never had before even though this time was different. This time he had friends. He opened an eye, peering around the otherwise deserted room, there was indeed a small pile of presents waiting for him, he smiled happily then yawned and closed his eyes again. They could wait.

Sleep now, presents later.

Two hours of extra sleep later he was awoken by something landing on his bed. "Wake up Harry!" The oh so familiar and happy voice of Elizabeth called and he opened his eyes. "How are you sleeping at a time like this?" She asked excitedly, "It's Christmas, gifts! Presents! I've been waiting for you to come downstairs for the last half an hour." She commented with a slight pout.

"I was tired, am still tired." He protested sleepily, pulling the pillow over his head and she laughed.

"Come on Harry, I'm waiting on you to open presents." She said to him pulling the pillow off his head and he slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. he looked at her face, blurry as it was because of the lack of glasses but even he could see the bright smile that she had. It was the first proper Christmas for both of them. For her, she had been locked away, Christmas wasn't a thing that she was involved with growing up outside of the Religious Aspects of it but even then, she didn't practice it because she was alone, she found little to pray for except for Freedom and even then, she put more faith in her own actions to escape rather than the actions of a higher power. Harry was the same in that regards, they both were isolated, though he had to watch from the side-lines as Dudley was given presents, each year the number increasing and each year Harry would get nothing or worse than nothing, a present that was solely given to try and break his spirit. What kind of gift was a coat hanger? Or a pair of used socks? Elizabeth passed him his glasses, he slipped them onto his face as she stood up. "Now come on, get downstairs, and bring your presents with you." She continued excitedly and disappeared back out of the room.

He dragged himself out of the bed, his tiredness vanishing as he stepped into the cool air of the room and shivered, quickly getting changed and then finally turning his attention to the presents. A nice sized pile of presents all wrapped in a variety of different wrapping paper. Each had a label on it and each was from a different person that he could see. He had sent out mail orders for gifts for other people and he had picked up a few things when he had been in Rapture for a few others and had sent them out, he hoped they arrived in time and if not, he hoped the others wouldn't mind. It was all still quite a new concept to him, the giving and receiving of gifts.

He looked at the pile and tried to work out how to get them all downstairs before shrugging it off, he'd open some now, take them down to where Elizabeth was waiting and then get the rest in a little while. Without looking as to who's gifts he had grabbed, he took them downstairs, he entered the Common Room to see Elizabeth with a smaller pile by her chair and he placed his down on the floor and sat on the sofa. "Merry Christmas Elizabeth." He said happily and she beamed at him in response.

"Merry Christmas Harry," She said and with that the two started to open the presents.

The first was from Terry, the boy had bought him a book, Quidditch Through the Ages, he flicked it open looking at some of the different pages before carefully closing it again, he looked at Elizabeth, she was also placing a book to the side before moving over to the next one. He saw the present that he had got her off to the side and smiled before turning back, he had a present from Hermione, another book to add to his collection _'Defending the Defenceless: A guide to basic defensive spells'_ That was a book he'd definitely read and very soon. He placed it down next to the other, a book from Su Li and he couldn't help but smile as he looked at Elizabeth. "With the number of books I'm getting, I should probably start my own library." He joked but it did nothing to hide the gratitude he felt for these gifts.

"Well, I know who to borrow books from in the future." Elizabeth said as she finished opening her second gift, also one from Hermione and another book was soon added to the collection. The two continued going through their gifts and added other bits and pieces including a variety of sweets to the collection and soon Harry was left with three presents, something that felt like another book from Hagrid, a gift from Elizabeth and a gift that he didn't recognise. He took the one from Hagrid, looking at the note he smiled, remembering to thank Hagrid the next time he saw him. He pulled off the wrapper, taking care to not break or damage the cover.

Hagrid had been meaning to talk to Harry for a while, and after hearing from Bathsheda and McGonagall about him, the man had taken it upon himself to contact several of his parent's old friends and had been happy enough to send photos for a photo album that Hagrid had worked on for him. He opened it, looking at the photos, taking a stuttering breath he looked at the photo's his hand running across it gently as he looked at them, seeing his parents and he sighed sadly. It was a gift that he loved, he had barely seen what they looked like but at the same time, he thought about what he had missed out on. Slowly he closed the album and placed it with the books, looking down at the gift from Elizabeth. "I wasn't sure what to get you, so I thought of something practical. Two things actually, a book and a wand holster." She said as he tore off the wrapper, inside was a simple box, he took the lid off and looked at the items in question The book title was covered by the wand holster and he looked up at her. "With someone out trying to kill you I thought that the best would be something practical, the books is something the Lutece Twins wrote, it may be a bit on the difficult side to understand right now but it should help you understand a few things in the future." She explained as he took it, looking at it. "I know it's not much but..." She trailed off as he smiled at her again.

"It's perfect, thank you." Harry said quickly as he looked to attach it to his wrist, he then turned his attention to the book in question, _Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel – R. Lutece_. As he was doing this, Elizabeth lifted up her gift from Harry, the box was small but that didn't mean anything as she opened it up, inside was a pendant on a necklace. "I saw it when we were in Arcadia, you've already got that one with a bird, it looked like it matched." He said as she lifted the necklace out, looking at the pendant that had a cage on it, she held it in her hands her mind going back to when she had first escaped the tower with Booker and she had received one from the Lutece Twins.

"It's perfect," she said, echoing the words that he had used moments before looking at it intently, the caged bird, that's what she had been, and now she had broken free and spread her wings.

 _Your father left this cloak in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

Harry looked at the last note, the writing was extravagant and flowing and not signed, he looked at it curiously, peeling the wrapper away a shimmering fabric fell into his lap. he lifted it up letting it run across his fingers, looking at it in confusion. "What is it?" Elizabeth asked as Harry held it.

"It's a cloak." Harry replied as he looked at it, standing up and letting the wrapping paper fall to the floor. "It belonged to my father..." Harry said quietly as he pulled it on. Elizabeth stared in shock, where Harry had been there was now just a floating head. "Harry..." She started in surprise. "Where's your body?" She asked and he looked at her in confusion before looking down.

"My body, it's gone!" He said in shock.

"You've been given a cloak that grants invisibility?" She asked in surprise and awe. How much she would have killed for that when trying to escape from Columbia. "That's incredible." She said breathlessly as Harry still looked around at himself, hidden by the cloak. He flicked it up over his head, completely vanishing from view. "Harry, what are you up to?" She asked with a smirk on her face as she listened for his movement, though his shoeless feet were quiet on the carpeted floor. "Don't even think about it Harry." She warned playfully before gasping as the cloak was thrown over head too.

"This cloak is huge, it could easily hide both of us and possibly another person," He said from behind her.

"And what do you plan to do with the cloak?" She asked as she pulled it off both of them, stepping away from him and turning back around to face him, holding it in her arms before she interrupted him before he could speak. "Actually, don't answer that, if I don't know I can't be a teacher and stop it." She said with a laugh and holding it out to Harry.

"Good point," Harry agreed, taking the cloak and with that, they left their gifts stacked tidily, knowing that they were the only two in the Ravenclaw Dorm at the moment and made their way down to breakfast.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

That night, Harry was out under the cloak, making a beeline towards the one place that he was intending to go to with the cloak. The Restricted Section, he knew that if any books that were focused on the study of the killing curse, in fact any of the unforgivable curses and studies done on the spells would interest him at this point. It wasn't the killing curse itself that he wanted to study but more how it worked, how it interacted with the body when cast. Maybe he could find some hint on to how it worked and then come up with some ideas as to how his mother protected him all those years ago.

He was walking slowly as he made his way down, he didn't want to take the chance that one of the professors over heard him as they did their nightly patrols, nor did he want Filch and his cat to find him either. Then he'd probably never see the cloak again. He entered the library, the door groaning in protest as it was pushed open, he held his breath even though it didn't change the sound the door made, making his way slowly into the room and closing it behind him, looking around he didn't see anyone but he realised that even Madam Pince needed to sleep at some point. Part of him thought that she was going to turn up somewhere, sleep walking the aisles in her attempt to guard the books from any possible theft or harm. He made his way through the stacks, making his way to the Restricted Section as quickly as possible, the sooner he got in the sooner he got out. arriving at the door to the Restricted section he pushed it open carefully, preparing to run if an alarm of some description sounded. There was silence and darkness and not much else so he made his way in, the darkness of the room surrounded him, forcing him to light his wand to guide the way, he knew it would stand out if anyone came near here but it was either that or not see which direction he was going in.

The book titles were quickly apparent why they were in the restricted section the book titles almost as horrifying as the contents they no doubt held, he walked past them, toying with taking a look but at the same time, not wanting to even touch them. He pulled back his cloak, letting his head free from the cloak to get a better look he saw one name that stood out to him. _Understanding the Unforgivables: A study of the Unforgivable Curses._ This was probably his best bet. He picked up the book, walking over to a table and placing it down, removing the cloak, it was an unassuming black book with silver writing on the cover, the only reason he had properly seen it was because of the light reflecting off of it. he looked around, still he was alone and opened up the book.

It screamed.

Harry jumped back, the book screaming loudly at him, a face almost coming out of the pages as the sound tore through the air. He recovered quickly, slamming the book shut, the scream muffled but not completely gone.

"Who's there!?" A voice called out, Harry recognising it as Filch and cursed, throwing on his cloak and extinguishing his wand. He made his way quickly back to the door, ducking out and under Filch's arm as he held up the lantern looking into the darkness, trying to see the intruder. Harry held his breath, backing away as he did, Filch reached out in the direction that he had moved, feeling something brush past him but not seeing anything. "Show yourself, I know your here." Filch called but Harry wasn't going to do anything like that, ducking down another aisle in the library. Filch grunted in annoyance, realising his target was gone and disappeared into the darkness. No doubt heading to find one of the professors. Harry let out the breath that he was holding, making his way out of the library and heading up towards the door, get out, get back to the Ravenclaw Common Room and pretend this disaster of a hunt had never happened. He exited the library, walking along the corridor acutely aware of a feeling on the back of his neck that he was being followed. he stopped glancing back around, he couldn't see anyone.

 _'Wait... the cat!'_ he looked down at the floor, there, watching the area that he was standing in confusion was Mrs Norris, the cat could smell him even if she couldn't see him. He looked at the cat, staring at it through the cloak and tried to work out how to get rid of her. There were a few passages that he could possibly escape and double back through, ones that he had found during a bit of his exploration and there were a few that he could possibly get away from her. All he'd have to do was be quick. He turned running down the corridor, trying to keep as quiet as possible, ducking behind a tapestry and running up a secret passageway, he took a left moving down the corridor, acutely aware that the cat was still following him. He looped back down another one, sliding the door shut before the cat could get down the passageway, letting out a sigh of relief Harry started the journey, he was now in the completely wrong part of the castle and had to make his way back. This evening was getting to be too long. He yawned, stepping into an archway as he heard footsteps coming from in front of him and behind him. There was a bench in the archway, Harry sat down as the two met in front of it.

"Anything happening Severus?" Bathsheda asked tiredly, she had been patrolling two floors up from the Library and even she had heard the scream of the security from the book.

"Nothing, whoever opened that book disappeared quickly." Severus spoke, looking around the corridor in disinterest, "Filch claims it was someone invisible." He explained and Bathsheda rolled her eyes.

"Are we sure it wasn't just Peeves? You know that doing something like this would be right up his street." She questioned and Severus shrugged.

"Either way it could be a distraction to take attention away from that." Snape pointed out and Bathsheda nodded in understanding. "I'll head to the corridor and keep an eye on things, you look around and see if we can find our invisible guest." He ordered and turned, walking into the darkness of the corridor.

"Aye, Aye, mon Capitan." She mocked quietly with a sarcastic salute, turning around and walking back the other way. Harry, sitting on the bench stifled a chuckle as he witnessed her response and stood up, preparing to make his way back to the dorm. But something caught his eyes. A classroom door was ajar, usually this would be nothing to be curious about but there was something sitting in there covered in a sheet. He walked in, curiosity getting the better of him, walking up to the item in question and removing the cloak, he walked around it, studying it before grabbing the cover, pulling it off.

It was a mirror, an elegant one, an inscription written across the top of it _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_ He stared blankly at the writing, it looked strange, a language he didn't recognise, he'd puzzle over it later, for now, his view was drawn to the mirror.

It wasn't just him reflected in the mirror. He spun around, expecting people to be behind him, but the only thing that was there were dusty shelves and tables that had been pushed aside to make room for this mirror. He looked back at the mirror, expecting it to be just a trick of the mind, tiredness, but they were still there. A woman with red hair stood behind him, next to someone who looked like an older version of him. He froze, his breath catching as his mind clicked with what he was seeing. "Mom... Dad?" He whispered looking at the two in shock.

But there was someone else, a person standing next to him, but he couldn't see who it was, she was definitely female but the figure was hidden. He fell back, sitting on the floor looking at the mirror. These were his parents. Lily and James Potter standing behind him, what was this mirror?

Time passed, he didn't know how long, he just sat staring at the mirror, looking at his parents, was it an hour that passed? was it two? He didn't know when he finally dragged himself away, throwing the cloak on and walking out of the room. He had to tell Elizabeth about this. Moving quickly through the hallways he made his way to the Head Girl Dorm, quickly calling out the password to the picture and entering the room.

He stopped to catch his breath as the portrait swung shut behind him and he looked around the room to the bed where he could hear the gentle breathing of the sleeping Elizabeth. Part of him wanted to let her sleep but at the same time, she had to see what he had found. "Elizabeth." He called, removing the cloak, "Elizabeth." He repeated, walking over to the bed. She was lying on her side, covers pulled up and Harry reached out, gently shaking her at the shoulder. "Elizabeth, you've got to come see this." Harry repeated and she groaned as she was pulled from her dreams.

"What?" She muttered sleepily, her eyes opening and looking at Harry. "Harry... what are you doing here?" She asked tiredly, barely taking note of what time it was at the moment. "It's still dark, what's wrong?" She asked in confusion.

"You've got to come see what I found." He said quickly and excitedly, the tiredness he had been feeling now long gone.

"What? what did you find?" She asked, still confused and groggy as she started to properly wake up. "You went out with your cloak didn't you." A statement more than a question.

"Perhaps, and I may have set an alarm off in the Restricted Section but what I found afterwards was... I saw my parents!" He exclaimed and Elizabeth stared at him.

"You saw your parents? As in through a rift?" She asked, the statement, as surprising as it was waking her up more effectively than an ice-cold bucket of water dumped on her head.

"No, not in a rift, C'mon I've got to show you!" He said quickly.

"Ok, but wait outside." She said to him and Harry looked at her in confusion. "I need to get dressed first." She said bluntly.

"Oh... right... erm... I'll just go, wait outside." He said quickly, his cheeks turning bright red as he exited the room. Elizabeth chuckled and then quickly got dressed, walking out to Harry who had hidden back under the cloak, it was still too early for him to be out after all.

"Let's go to what you found," she said as he pulled the cloak over her as well, not so much to keep her out of trouble, she was staff after all but more of the fact he didn't want them being stopped from getting to the location. he led her back through the corridors to the room that he had found, the mirror still standing there in all its mesmerising glory. He closed the door behind the two of them and threw the cloak off, practically pulling Elizabeth in front of the mirror as he pointed happily at it.

"See, there's my mum and there's my dad." He said happily and Elizabeth looked at the mirror in confusion, all she could see was the two of them reflected.

"Harry, are you sure you're seeing what you're seeing? all I can see is us." She said and Harry looked at her in confusion.

"But they're right there." He said with another gesture, "stand in the centre you'll see." He said enthusiastically, stepping to the side and letting her move to centre focus of the mirror. She looked at it, unsure as to what she was meant to be seeing beyond her reflection but as she looked something started to take shape. Her eyes widened as she realised what it was and she quickly stepped away. "Did you see them?"

"Harry, I saw myself, that was all," she said a little too quickly. She looked at the inscription her mind puzzling over it before realising what it said, an inscription written in reverse, a mirror to show what the true message was. _I show not your face but your heart's desire_ "Harry, this mirror, don't listen to what it shows you." She said slowly.

"What? Why?" He asked in disbelief, he finally gets to see what his parents look like, outside of the few photos that were in the album and now she wants to stop him from looking at the mirror that showed them there, with him.

"The mirror is dangerous." She said seriously, "please Harry, don't lose focus on what is here now, to see what you really want to see and lose sight of everything around you." She said almost pleadingly and Harry found himself torn between looking at the mirror and listening to Elizabeth. "Harry, promise me when we leave here you won't come back." She requested as he brought his gaze back to the mirror.

"What? but. why?" He asked again and she sighed.

"You can't live, watching this mirror, it will torment you, what good is showing you what you want when it can't be gained?" She asked in frustration. "Why torment yourself? Why reopen the wound? why focus on what could have been and live with what is?" She asked and even she heard the doubt in her voice. With what they were, what they were capable of, what could have been, could be.

"I just want to see them... see them properly." He said sadly and Elizabeth closed her eyes, sighing deeply, stepping over to Harry and pulling him into a hug.

"Stay then, look at them for a while but remember Harry, it isn't real, don't forget to live for not only yourself but them, don't lose yourself to the memory." she said quietly, holding him tightly. "You will eventually see what could have happened when this ability starts to form, there will always be the temptation to act on it. I know, I really do, but please Harry, don't lose yourself to this." She finished, releasing the hug and pulling back looking at him. He looked heartbroken, he knew that she was right but to see them, to see them standing behind him like they were and to see the proud smiles on their faces, something that even the photo's would never show. "I'm going to head away Harry, stay if you need to, but don't forget to rest." She said softly and he nodded, still looking torn over the situation.

"Oh Elizabeth." He called softly to her as she went to leave. She turned around to look at him, "Bathsheda knows what's in the corridor." He said simply, turning his gaze back to the mirror.

"Huh." Elizabeth muttered unintelligently, why hadn't she thought about Bathsheda first? Instead of trying to find out through Dumbledore, why didn't she try her friend? She mentally berated herself, vowing to speak to her later today about it.

"Thank you." Harry added finally and he meant it, Elizabeth was right it wasn't good to focus on what he couldn't have but at this time, he just wanted to stay, to take in the image that he could see and hopefully try to work out who the other one was. As Elizabeth left the door shut behind her and closed with a click, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

And so the night passed into day, the day passed into two days and then a third and a fourth. Still Harry would find himself pulled back here when he wasn't busy, he would just sit and work on the holiday homework while watching the mirror.

Elizabeth watched from the side-lines, she wanted to drag him away from it, stop him from looking at it but each time he did she knew why he was doing it and she also knew that if the roles had been reversed, she would no doubt have been doing the same.

The morning after that night, she had spoken to Bathsheda, the answers had been vague but she had let slip on one little fact, it concerned someone named Nicholas Flamel. The answer to everything would be through that one person, she just knew it. The name rung a bell, something in the back of her mind, something that she should have been able to recall but she couldn't.

Time would show it all. Time would give her all the answers she needed. She walked back to the Common Room, she knew it would be empty, with Harry spending his time with the mirror, she would have the area to herself.

That evening, Harry was again at the mirror, his homework scattered in front of him, piecing through the work, glancing up every now and again at the mirror. It was strange, he knew he shouldn't be here but at the same time he didn't want to leave.

"Back again Harry?" A voice spoke behind him and Harry jumped, spinning around and looking to see Dumbledore standing in the corner of the room.

"Professor Dumbledore, I didn't see you come in." He said nervously, wondering how much trouble he was in.

"Of course, I do not need a cloak to make myself invisible. Though I have a feeling with the mirror your attention was a bit preoccupied." Dumbledore said with a smile, walking up to Harry and the mirror. "I see that you, like so many before you have discovered the Mirror of Erised." Dumbledore spoke warmly as Harry started to pick up his homework. "Do you know what it does?" He asked and Harry nodded.

"It shows us our hearts desire." He said simply and Dumbledore nodded, he understood what it was, he knew that was a dangerous tool but at the same time he couldn't pull himself away.

"The happiest man in the world could look at this mirror and it would function exactly as a mirror, you, who have never known the love of your parents, see them before you." He sadly spoke, Harry closed his eyes and knew that was the truth.

"But there's something else I see." He added and Dumbledore looked at him with a quizzical expression.

"Oh? Do you mind if I ask what it is that you see?" Dumbledore questioned politely.

"There's someone else that I can't see properly, they're cloaked in darkness, but I can tell it's a girl."

"Ah, I see, yes, you grew up relatively alone didn't you Harry? isolated from your other students?" He asked, already knowing the answer, he had been informed about the situation by both McGonagall and Babbling, if it wasn't for the protections that the house gave he would have happily moved Harry but the risk was too great at the moment. Harry nodded his head in answer to the question. "The mirror reflects that, it shows you companionship, it just doesn't know who that companion will be, the heart is a powerful tool but it can only guide the mind. In time, I have no doubt that the image would take shape into someone you may know. But I must forbid you from approaching the mirror again Mr Potter, it will be moved shortly and you must not go looking for it." He ordered and begrudgingly Harry nodded. "Remember Harry, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." He said softly and Harry turned to walk out, stopping at the door.

"Professor can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Dumbledore said with a small smile before gesturing for Harry to continue.

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?" He asked and Dumbledore looked at him for a moment, a flash of something crossing his face but Harry couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"I see myself holding a pair of socks. Every Christmas, people always buy me books when you can't go wrong with a good pair of socks." Dumbledore smiled again as he finished and Harry nodded his head turning away and walking out of the room. There was no doubt that it was a lie, but it was a personal question and Harry wasn't going to question it further. He left the room, leaving the door open behind him as he made his way to the common room, unaware of the look that Dumbledore was giving him, one of curiosity and suspicion as the old wizard pondered the words that Harry had spoken.

He made his way back to the Common Room, opening the door and seeing Elizabeth sat on her usual chair in the room he dropped down into the sofa next to her. "Dumbledore turned up at the mirror." He said and she looked up from the book she was reading, the Tales of Beedle the Bard. "He's forbidden me from looking at the mirror and has said that it's going to be moved later this evening and I'm not to go looking for it."

"Will you?" She asked simply, turning the page in her book. "Look for it?"

"No," Harry replied with a certainty in the tone that showed that he wouldn't. "I got to see them, I got to think, I don't need to worry about the mirror or if they're proud of me." Harry said with a small smile. "It was just nice you know, for a moment to imagine them watching over as I did my Homework and worked on my studies."

"Harry, they're always watching over you, people who die don't just go away, they live as long as you believe in them, as long as the memory remains in your heart and beyond that. They may not have stayed watching as ghosts but they are watching and they are proud. They'd be foolish if they weren't." Elizabeth replied softly and smiled at him, "but I'm glad you realise that the mirror was only a temporary thing." She added and closed her book. "What else did Dumbledore say?"

"Well he apparently wants Socks as a Christmas present." Harry started with a laugh, "I asked him what he saw in the mirror, I'm pretty sure that he was making up that answer but you never know with Dumbledore." Harry joked, twisting on the sofa and lying back on it, his feet resting on the armrest. "Though he did say one thing about the mirror. 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' I already knew that but with it being said like that, it sunk in just that little bit more." He explained quietly, "but he is right, you were right, I can't focus on what could have been. I may go have a look in the future but not right now." He said, at peace with everything now, before sitting up quickly looking at Elizabeth like a cloud had been pulled from his mind. "Did you speak to Bathsheda?" He asked quickly.

"I did, she couldn't tell me what it was but she gave some information, a person called Nicholas Flamel is involved."

"Flamel?" Harry asked with a frown, the name was something that he recalled... where was it from? He spun in his seat again, looking at the fireplace deep in thought. "I heard the name recently," He said trying to pick out the memory. "Where was it..." He repeated frowning as he did.

"It doesn't matter for now, the more you think on it, the more it'll slip away." Elizabeth said and Harry reluctantly agreed with her.

"You're right, you're always right." He said with an over dramatic sigh, falling back into the sofa. "We'll work it out, the others will probably want to help as well."

"They're back tomorrow aren't they?" She asked and he nodded. "Which means more work for me to do." She pouted before laughing. Tomorrow the students returned, tomorrow the group continued to investigate into what was going on in the school. For now, though, the two friends just relaxed, talking about random things until they each returned to their respective rooms for the evening.

The quiet and the peace they had over the holiday would not last for much longer.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Draco?" Lucius spoke, entering his sons study. Draco froze, where he was sat, it was unusual for his father to enter his study, like Lucius he had his own private area to work and just be by himself, he didn't enter his father's study and in return Lucius didn't enter his, for him to be here now meant that something was terribly wrong... or right. "How does your mothers plan proceed?" He asked and Draco sighed.

"Slowly, I can speak to her and I believe we are building the basics for friendship, but it is slow." Draco explained as he got off of his chair, stepping away from his desk and facing his father. "I guess you could say we are friends if I had to guess but at the same time, she doesn't really talk to many of the Slytherins. I think Flint has done well in offending her." Draco guessed, he had seen the way he had looked at her, it was enough to make any girls skin crawl just by knowing it was happening but having it directed at someone he knew and was trying to be friends with made it all the fouler.

"Indeed... I have no doubt that the Flint family probably have tried to encourage his actions. Low intelligence and low political power," Lucius sneered and Draco smirked at the apt description. "Keep an eye on him and if he steps out of line then inform me and I will see to it his family keeps him under tighter control." Lucius ordered and got a nod in response, Draco knew when to stay quiet, unless he was given a direct question, he wasn't going to talk out of line to his father. "And Potter? have you spoken to him?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer having spoken to Snape over the holidays.

"Again, he's hard to talk to because we move in different social circles, but he has been open to talking about tradition in the Wizarding World and seems to have picked up the same attitude that Elizabeth has." He was being polite with his phrasing, Harry asked questions, a lot of questions, they were questions designed to be double edged, one side, they gave Harry knowledge and as the saying goes, Knowledge is power, the other edge was that it made the people he spoke to think. It was never a judgemental question that he asked in regards to tradition or culture it was always one that he would follow up with a comparison and not in a way that made others feel inferior or superior. "But he is willing to talk to me, including now that I've told him we're related. Family is important to him."

"He's an orphan from an abusive house, of course it's important to him, the question is, can it be used to our advantage?" Lucius asked and Draco nodded. It was something that had become blatantly obvioius with the way Harry carried himself, he was quite, thin and tended to avoid large groups of people, he had made many friends but he never really hung out with them all at the same time, preferring to keep to smaller groups, two or three people at a time.

"I think it can, I am helping him with something, he was nearly killed in the Ravenclaw Quidditch match, someone tried cursing his broom. At the moment, he's looking into it." Draco explained and the look Lucius gave him was one of curiosity. "I do not plan to be a public supporter or investigate it like Potter no doubt plans to do, but I do plan to keep an eye on things. I haven't told him this part yet but I think he realises that this little group he's forming has different approaches to the situation." Draco explained calmly.

"Good, continue with it. But, remember we are Malfoy's we do not compromise on who we are and what we want." Lucius stated, "If Potter tries to force you to do that than do what you know you must do." Lucius finished, turning and leaving the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

Draco let out a deep breath that he hadn't realised he was holding, relaxing slightly, his shoulders slumping as he thought about what he was being asked to do.

Was it worth it?

TBC

I'm still not 100% sure about this chapter, not only is it my shortest chapter but It's also the one that just feels off the most, I will be really glad to get out of Year one and start moving onto the others, I'm kind of glossing over a lot at the moment because it's not really going to come to full effect until the summer at the least. The conversations which Draco is referring to are ones that I've got in my head and will be appearing over the next few chapters with more detail, for now I just wanted to make reference to the fact they were talking to each other.

Yes i realise the song at the start is a muggle song but i kinda feel that there would be some sort of overlap. That and i dont know any wizarding christmas carols. :)


	11. Chapter 11: Plotting and Planning

**Chapter 11: Plotting and Planning**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Bioshock or Harry Potter, each belong to their respective owners._

"You definitely said Flamel?" Hermione asked after the group had met up on their return to the castle.

"Definitely." Harry confirmed sitting back in the chair, resting his hands behind his head, they had commandeered a corner of the library, it had initially been the three from Ravenclaw, himself, Terry and Su that had taken this space but as Harry came to know the others they had joined in at the table. The month unconscious had been weird for the group but they had continued on, determined to find out who was responsible for Jinxing the broom, Susan had even thought about bringing her Aunt in but had stopped at the request of the others.

No evidence would result in a waste of resources to conduct a manhunt whereas if they waited they could get more information to use against the person or people responsible. But they knew one thing thanks to Draco, Snape was innocent, this wasn't a question of Draco making it up to try and gain their trust, he was certain about it. There was no lie or deceit there. "I've heard the name before; I think I read about it." Hermione continued thoughtfully, like Harry it was a name that was on the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't work it out.

"Flamel... the name is certainly familiar." Agreed Su Li but like the others she was unable to tell why that was. "I think this is going to bug us for a while," she muttered and they agreed. "Before that though, we need to look into who is trying to kill Harry." She said and Harry groaned, leaning forwards onto the table. "You can't hide from it, that was meant to kill you," She said seriously.

"I know, I know, I just was kind of hoping that I'd be able to come here, be a normal student and blend in, not end up in the middle of an attempted murder mystery." He responded, pulling himself back up. "We know it's not Snape."

"I still say you can't trust him." Ron chimed in and Harry rolled his eyes.

"For now, he's not a suspect, an arrogant, rude asshole he maybe, but I don't think murdering children in a Quidditch Game fits his personality." Harry said dismissively, he may dislike Snape but he was going to take the word of Draco for now.

"Then we need to start looking at others, there's a whole set of professors here who could be responsible for it." Susan commented, "I mean we can dismiss people like Hagrid, he doesn't have the education in magic to do it." Susan explained, although nothing official was happening she had spoken to her aunt about it during the Christmas Holidays, her aunt had been a fountain of information in that regards and had told Susan what she knew about the staff members.

"Professor Babbling is out as well, she wouldn't do something like this." Harry added, "She's one of the good ones."

"What about Elizabeth?" Susan questioned already knowing how he'd react but she had to ask, one of the first rules in an investigation was that everyone was a suspect.

"Are you crazy Susan? Elizabeth is my friend she wouldn't do that." Harry snapped in disbelief but Susan gestured for him to calm down.

"Harry, rule number one of an investigation is that everyone is a suspect, no matter how well you know the person, no matter how nice the person is, there is no such thing as a completely innocent person. Auntie told me as much in regards to an investigation, but, with those suspects you have to think of what the three key parts are."

"You're talking Means, Motive and Opportunity aren't you?" Hermione asked. "I've read crime books, a suspect can normally be discounted if they lack one of the three, the mean to perform the task, the motive to perform the deed and the Opportunity to act. Take Professor Snape for example, he had all three but at the same time he was innocent."

"Allegedly." Susan added, dubious herself about the validity of that, a person who hates someone and is skilled in the dark arts as Snape no doubt was did not just act to save said hated person without a very valid reason. "I'm not saying Draco is lying but it is possible that Snape was lying to him." Susan pointed out and Harry nodded his head, accepting the point for what it was.

"So our eliminated suspect is back to being a suspect."

"Until we have a better one, yes. He's a viable candidate. Anyway, Elizabeth is a suspect but she lacks two of the three things, you could argue she had motive, you two had been arguing, it is possible that there was an underlying anger that she took advantage of in the Quidditch Match." She stopped and raised a hand to Harry to stop him protesting, "let me finish Harry." She requested letting out a breath that flicked her fringe up. "But that motive is not a good enough reason to murder, though people have been killed for less." She countered her own comment.

"You said all three and that she lacks two?" Terry questioned and Susan nodded. "She didn't have an opportunity, she was in the Ravenclaw stands, there is no way that she would have been able to do it without one of us noticing." Terry pointed out with a smile, getting a slight nod of appreciation from Harry.

"She doesn't have the means either, she's skilled at magic but only the first year magic, she wouldn't know what jinx to use or how to properly go about it." Hannah said in realisation and Susan nodded her head and making a slight 'hmm' of agreement.

"Precisely, that's what I was trying to get at, we need to look at everyone and eliminate them as suspects." Susan explained, looking around at the table of friends. "We do that and we'll narrow the pool quite a bit," She stopped, realising that everyone was staring at her and blushed. "I picked up a few things from my aunt."

"Still, it's good to start. There's something else we need to look into, Cerberuses? Cerberi? Three headed dog thing that I have no idea what the plural would be even though there is no need to know the plural at this point." Harry commented, rambling slightly as he tried to think on what the correct plural would be.

"Why do you want to know about a Cerberus?" Hannah asked

"Because that's the thing that's guarding the Third Floor Corridor," Harry replied calmly watching the looks of shock on their faces, one by one it hit them and one by one they shared looks of disbelief and slight bit of fear.

"At least we know it won't run amok around the school." Su Li commented and everyone turned to look at her with quizzical expressions. "Cerberus are huge, it isn't fitting through a door any time soon and it isn't going to break down the magically reinforced walls without some assistance."

"She just tempted fate didn't she..." Harry stage muttered to Terry who sniggered.

"I think she did, we're doomed now. The dog will be free by the end of the week." There was laughter from the group at that with Su rolling her eyes at their antics but it was quickly hushed when Madam Pince came into view. "But did everyone get their homework done?" Terry asked and there were a few groans, mainly Ron and Hannah but they all confirmed that they had completed the homework. "I can safely say I'm glad I'm not Elizabeth I think her work load just increased dramatically." He joked as the conversations started to shift towards more ordinary school related topics.

HPCVHPCV

Indeed, Elizabeth was currently cursing her luck as she worked her way through each of the Essays that had been handed in, there were a lot, every class had given homework and every one of them was being marked by her. she placed the quill down, flexing her fingers to ease the pain in her hand as it tried to cramp up on her. "And this is why I may love reading them, but I'm never writing a book." She muttered to herself as she picked up a quill. "Why can't they have moved on to Pencils! Or Pens?" She asked already knowing the answer to it. It was another thing that she had asked Bathsheda about when they were still preparing everything. Quills could be enchanted to make sure that they couldn't copy, they could have a magical signature focused through them as a person writes that makes it known who the person is even if they don't remember to write their name on to it. Pens were not able to attune to the user and as such they were good for independent study but not any official work. There was little point to teach the students to use one and then neglect the usage of the quill and instead focus on making sure the writing was adequate when they were using the quill.

She was currently sat in a different part of the library working on the essays, several students knew that she used this part and they dropped by every now and again to say hello but the majority realised that if she was here and there was a mountain of paper then she was more than likely going to be wanting to be left alone so as not to be distracted. Today was not one of those days as a Hufflepuff dropped into the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"Wotcher Elizabeth." She greeted cheerfully and Elizabeth looked up from the essay she was currently grading.

"Hey Tonks." She greeted in response. During the month that she had essentially isolated herself to the Hospital Wing she had met Tonks a few times, the woman was almost constantly injuring herself due to trips and falls, she was a bit of a klutz but at the same time she carried herself like a dangerous combatant. She wondered what Tonks was planning to do in the future, "what brings you to my little section of the Library." She questioned with a smile, setting the quill down and looking at the currently pink haired girl. Where she got the hair dye from, Elizabeth had no clue but it was definitely unique.

"Just hiding away for a bit, the return to school and return of the creepers that want to ask me out." She explained and laughed, "some of them really are a bit too stubborn sometimes." She picked up one of the essays and looked at it. "Geez, was my handwriting this bad when I was a firstie?" She asked as Elizabeth pulled the sheet out of her hands.

"Perhaps, I wasn't here to see it." Elizabeth said with a shrug, "Nice hair by the way." She added and Tonks beamed at her.

"Thank you, I think the pink brings out my eyes don't you?" She said with an over dramatic blinking and Elizabeth laughed at it.

"But you said the boys are harassing you?" Elizabeth questioned bringing the topic back onto a more serious discussion.

"It's nothing, they just don't seem to get that just because I can change my appearance I'm not going to become their idea of a 'perfect' girlfriend." Tonks dismissed as she tried to look at another of the Essays "Oh, I know this kid, is he doing good?" She asked and went to pick it up but Elizabeth gently slapped her hand away.

"Leave," she said calmly and sniggered as Tonks started to pout, "He's doing fine, that's all I'll say." Elizabeth said, taking the fact that the homework was just as private to the student as it would be to Tonks, she shifted the topic back again. "What do you mean you can change your appearance?" Elizabeth asked, Tonks grinned and demonstrated almost instantly, her nose turning into a pig snout. "Okay... wow, what is that ability?"

"I'm a Metamorphmagus, I'm able to change my body, as long as I can picture it I can do it to an extent," Tonks explained and Elizabeth made a small gesture for her to continue the explanation, "I can change my height, my weight and appearance but at the same time there are limits, it's less the creation of the appearance and more the changing." She tried to explain, struggling to explain the situation.

"I think I understand, you shift your body around, not so much creating new mass but just rearranging it to where you need." Elizabeth took a chance at explaining it.

"Exactly and you can guess how half the boys in the upper years want me to act when they try and approach me."

"I can hazard a guess." Elizabeth muttered in agreement, not so much that she was thinking all boys were like that but she could work out what would happen. "You'll find the right guy?" She said questioningly, not sure how to progress.

"Queen Elizabeth!" A voice called out and the two looked up as the Twins, Fred and George walking over.

"The terrible twins have arrived." Tonks said with a smirk as they sat down at the table.

"Fred, George, what chaos are you planning today?" She asked and the two twins smiled with an attempted angelic smile that didn't fool either of them.

"Us? Up to Something?" Fred asked in mock outrage. "I assure you my Queen, we're not up to anything... But we hear that you are."

Elizabeth watched the two, looking at them in curiosity, "and what do you mean by that?"

"We happen to know that you and select others want to find out what's behind the door." George started

"And we know that you also now know what is behind the door, from a certain point of view." Fred added with a smile.

"And although it pains us to help those who are in a position of authority," George continued, placing a hand against his forehead dramatically "We would advise you to look to the cards."

"Look to the cards?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, the two were starting to sound like the Lutece twins, was this some sort of skill that all twins had or was it something that seemed to crop up every now and again. "What does that even mean?"

"You will know." Fred responded, dropping into the chair at the table, "oh, is this Ronniekins homework?" Fred asked snatching up the homework.

"And this is why I normally do this in my room." Elizabeth deadpanned to Tonks, snatching the paper back from Fred. "I'm surrounded by children"

"You're not much older than me." Tonks protested and Elizabeth responded by sticking her tongue out at Tonks. "And you call us children." She deadpanned in response, the two breaking out into a small bout of laughter before Elizabeth recovered and turned her attention back to the twins.

"Anyway, since you want to call me Queen, Obey Me! What did you mean?" She asked and Fred laughed.

"I'm sorry my Queen, I'm afraid we're more in comparison to Rebels than loyalists." George explained picking up another of the essays. "Oh, Potter's essay, nice handwriting." he commented and laughed as Elizabeth snatched it out of his hands and placed it back on the table.

"If you're not going to talk then kindly go away, I want to get this done." She said calmly though there was a hint of warning that they were starting to over reach on joking attitude. She liked the twins, they had a sense of humour that seemed to be lacking with a lot of people but the nosing into others homework was a bit too much for her to stand by and say nothing. She looked down at the one she was marking and then sighed, putting it on the pile she still had to do. "Nope, not getting them done now." She said with mock resignation, "since you won't tell me what's in the corridor perhaps you can answer me about the thing that guards it, three heads and barks." She said and George and Fred looked to each other, glanced back at Elizabeth and then performed a two-man huddle to confer. Elizabeth watched them for a second before looking at Tonks with an inquisitive look.

"Don't look at me, I've never seen them thinking this much before, you can practically see the smoke coming from their ears." Tonks giggled a little bit as the twins looked up at her with identical over exaggerated glares. "Did you learn that from Charlie or Bill?" She asked and the glare disappeared to be replaced by laughter.

"Charlie." They responded and Elizabeth still looked confused.

"Charlie? Wait, no I remember, your older brother that works with... dragons wasn't it?" She asked and they nodded their heads. "But I'm getting side-tracked again, Cerberus, you knew it was there and I bet you also looked into information about it." She said pointedly and they conceded the point with a nod.

"Wait, there's a Cerberus IN the school!?" Tonks cut in loudly and Elizabeth cringed, glancing around to see if anyone else heard, while there were a few nearby, they seemed to have missed it, though the look Madam Pince was sending their way from her desk indicated that she had heard quite clearly what was said.

"Smooth Tonksie... very smooth." Fred teased lightly, "Speak a bit louder I don't think the Slytherin Common Room heard you." Tonks blushed, her hair turning as red as her cheeks, "keep it like that and people will think you're a Weasley as well. And I don't think we could handle another sibling."

"Shut... Up..." Tonks bit out, trying to keep her embarrassment under control. "It's not easy holding a form all the time, it requires a lot of concentration to do this sort of thing." She managed to control the blush, her hair turning back to its chosen pink colour. "So Cerberus, spill!" She hissed and the three looked at each other, this was slowly becoming one of the worst secrets ever.

"Don't go into the Third Floor Corridor unless you want to be eaten by the largest dog in the UK." George said with a seriousness that surprised the two women. It just felt strange coming from the Twins, "we, masters of stealth that we are, barely managed to escape before it turned us into a chew toy."

"It was a close call Forge; it was close indeed." Fred agreed and looked at Elizabeth. "But we're the curious sort, do you know how hard we looked for information on the dog?" He questioned making a grand gesture of the area around them. "We spent weeks in here! Weeks!" He lamented, "but there is nothing, all books regarding them have been moved, along with a couple of other things but those ones were long overdue to go to the restricted section." He added the final part as an afterthought, there were some books that weren't banned that should be, ones that fell under morally grey but extremely twisted. It was not that the Twin thought that knowledge should be removed from all but even he understood that sometimes there were things that some people were just not meant to know.

"So the Great Weasley Twins were defeated?" Tonks asked in a mixture of amusement and horror, still on the idea of a Cerberus being IN the school.

"Pfft, delayed not defeated, we will find a way past this challenge, especially now our reputation is at stake."

"Well when you do, let me know, until then, I have to do all this." Elizabeth chimed in gesturing to the pile of essays. Why had she agreed to do this again? Oh right, money to live off of while she was here working on the puzzle that seemed to be evolving around her and her desire to help the boy who had rescued her. The three teens said their goodbyes and left, though at the same time Elizabeth really wished that they had stayed, it was a nice escape from her work if they were going to talk. An escape was what she needed right about now. She looked at the quill again and could feel the pain in her hand reappearing even before she moved it. She glared at her hand, "don't even start, we've still got a long way to go." She muttered picking up the quill and continuing her work. "You can come out; I know you're there." She called to the person standing by the bookshelves behind her that was watching her intently during the entirety of the conversation with the twins. She quietly hummed as she waited for the person to walk over, making a few notations on the essay as she did. _"God only knows what I'd be without you."_ She stopped humming, quietly singing to herself as she continued to mark, feeling her ear twitch slightly as she heard the sound of footsteps from behind her. "Finally decided to be brave, who knows perhaps there's a bit of Gryffindor in you after all Draco." She said lightly, turning her head and looking at the young Noble. The boy in question looked almost insulted at the comparison as he walked around the table and took the seat that Tonks had taken before hand. "Curious about your essay? I haven't gotten to it yet, I don't think. They're kind of all blurring together at the moment."

"I'm not here about the essay," Draco admitted, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a letter, "mother asked me to give this to you." He said, placing the letter on the table. "You have a nice singing voice." He admitted and Elizabeth smiled slightly.

"Thank you Draco, I admit, I wasn't expecting you to hear that."

"I also heard you singing in the Hospital Wing, when Potter was unconscious." Draco explained and she looked at him in amusement.

"Draco should I be worried that you're spying on me?" She asked teasingly and he looked offended by it.

"A Malfoy does not spy, at least not in person." He said snobbishly, turning his head away with a mocking sniff of disdain. There was silence for a moment before the two started laughing and were hushed pretty quickly by Madam Pince.

"I have no doubt I'm going to hear about this later." She muttered, catching the glare that was being sent her way. "Thank you for the letter Draco, I'll send her a response soon. Did you have a good Christmas?" She asked, changing the topic away from whatever his mother had sent her.

"It was pleasant, we had family from France over." He started to explain before talking about some of the situations that had occurred and the topic eventually moved onto the Yule Ball that they had held. "Mother was disappointed that you couldn't attend but understood the reasoning, she has left an invitation for you to visit during the Easter Holidays if you would like." He extended the invitation just like he had been asked to do. In his opinion he wanted her to come, he enjoyed talking to her but at the same time he also didn't want Elizabeth to meet his father. Not that he didn't believe that his father was a great man but he wondered how their ideologies would conflict and whether anything would come of it.

"I will see if I'm free, I don't see why I shouldn't be able to come." She responded happily and Draco stood up, having delivered his messages and gave his goodbyes, disappearing into the rows of bookcases that made up the majority of the Library. "Shame, I was hoping the conversation would last longer." She said in disappointment knowing what she now had to return to.

HPCVHPCV

Another section of the library, Blaize was angry, he was angry at both Potter and DeWitt. Potter because of who he was, the Boy-Who-Lived a boy who was seemingly able to make friends in every house and walked around with this delusion that he was someone special because he was getting assistance from the new Assistant. If Potter was treated like everyone else, then no doubt he would not be at the top of the class. He growled in frustration, closing the book that he had been attempting to read, the Transfiguration essay could wait.

DeWitt was another problem for him, her attitude to the world, the questions asked, her opinions on the laws and Traditions. People were listening to her and it was leading to more questions being asked. Ones that led back to his Mother. He cursed under his breath as he thought about it. She had been cleared of all charges, she was innocent in the eyes of the law and this bitch was trying to change that, she was trying to make her out to be a criminal. Like Draco, he had been taught loyalty to his family and loyalty to his beliefs, but there was no conflict here. This person was trying to cause people to turn against his family, to turn against his mother. He smirked, a plan forming in the back of his mind, already he could think of something to try and discredit them, it would take time to set in motion and he'd probably have to enlist the aid of others but he could think of something. A potion for her, something that would cause her to enter an embarrassing situation that would destroy Potter and ruin her reputation with something extra in store for Potter that would show him that the Zabini family were far superior to the Potter's. It would take time to brew, it would take time to organise and acquire the ingredients but he knew that he could get it done. "Pansy, we have work to do." He said calmly, standing up and exiting the Library.

Pansy had been in an interesting circumstance at first, she had been told by her parents to stay close to Draco, for their families were allies and she knew her parents were trying to arrange a marriage contract between the two families. But at Hogwarts he barely wanted anything to do with her. He had practically ignored her through the time, sure they spoke and they were cordial at those times but he just didn't seem to have any interest in associating with her. She knew why of course, they Malfoy family had become intrigued by this new assistant, there was something about her that gained Draco's mothers attention and through her it had gained the attention of both father and son. So, she was pushed to the side, it was politics, through and through and while she was angry about it, she was not angry at Draco. No, for her anger was directed at the people who had come and screwed up her plans of getting close to Draco. She blamed Elizabeth. If she had stayed in America, if she had never turned up then she wouldn't be in the situation she was in now.

She followed Blaize out of the library, her thoughts drifting back to the Hogsmeade visit that had happened before the Quidditch Match that saw Potter injured, the Slytherin's that had gone to Hogsmeade with Elizabeth had been mixed in their reaction but they were all of the same mind on one aspect, their belief that she cared little for tradition. Sylvia had ranted about her attitude towards the Pureblood philosophy and Marcus had been annoyed that the afternoon had turned into one of disagreements and arguments. Bryon had seemed quite mellow about it but he was an oddball by association in the Slytherin dorm, he was a Pureblood, a minor one from a family that worked in one of the departments of the Ministry, Pansy couldn't recall which one at the moment but that wasn't the point, they were a non-entity clinging onto the social ladder with little to no progression. The two walked in silence, they were allies of convenience at best, she knew of the rumours revolving around his mother, every Pureblood knew them and almost every one of them thought the Zabini family were becoming more and more of a joke. They were wealthy, that there was no doubt, they were powerful, after all Wealth led to power. But their influence was diminishing, fear of his mother setting her sights on one of the more prominent single Purebloods made them want to keep a bit of distance from the family. But for now he was a means to an end, if she could discredit and sabotage the Malfoy plan through making a mockery of Elizabeth then she could get Draco's attention again, show her for the anti-pureblood that she seemed to be and then the Malfoy family would no doubt abandon their plan.

The two returned to the Slytherin Common Room, taking a seat off to one side away from the older students and began to plot. "I know of a potion; I can brew it but I need the ingredients." Blaize started to explain but Pansy cut him off quickly

"Can't we just move onto poison instead of an ordinary potion?" Pansy asked, she had a feeling as to why he would decline it but to say it would be easier in this situation. She wasn't willing to commit murder for this plan to work. With the rumours behind his family she wanted to make sure that he wasn't willing to do the same either.

"Poison is too obvious, she's a healthy woman, if she were to suddenly drop dead then Aurors would be in this school in an instant." Blaize said, throwing out the idea and Pansy nodded her head. He frowned, she had done it as a test and it grated his nerves, another person who used the alleged actions of his mother to try and judge him. The Parkinson family were not much different, they also had their skeletons and if she wasn't careful he would start digging into them.

"I knew that; I was making sure you knew it when you mentioned potion. What will the potion do?" Pansy asked curiosity getting the better of her, she knew in the back of her mind that not knowing what the potion did would give her an added level of plausible deniability even if she was the one who got him the ingredients.

"That's a surprise, but I know your family runs several potions farms and I was wondering if you'd be able to get me these ingredients." He said, taking a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to Pansy, she unfolded the paper looking at the ingredients, letting out a small whistle of surprise at what was written down.

"These are expensive; this'll take a long time to get a hold of. Some of them aren't even stored at this time of year, you wouldn't be able to do this until we're in our second year at least... Maybe even Third Year unless my father can secure this one." She commented and Blaize shrugged his shoulders.

"I am a patient person, I can wait for the right time to strike at her, besides, we have Potter to deal with as well." Blaize explained with an almost predatory grin, "And since they're such good friends, perhaps we can hurt her through hurting him." Yes, they had more plans to make in preparation for what was to come.

HPCVHPCV

Completely unaware of this, Harry had separated from the group, they had decided to work on separate parts, his was to try and find out what was in the vault when it was taken, he had learnt the name of the person involved in it all, Nicholas Flamel and it was bugging him because he knew he had read the name from somewhere. He had thought to ask Professor Flitwick about it but knew that the idea wouldn't work, no doubt the dog wasn't the only thing guarding the item and if Harry could hazard a guess the professors would be involved in it somehow, again the question came back to who was involved and what was involved in the protections. He sighed, it wasn't something he was going to find out now. Still he made his way to the Charms Professor and Head of House's office to speak to him, he had delayed on this for too long.

He stopped in front of the door and knocked on it, he waited for a response, it was early afternoon and he was normally here around this time, at least that's what the notice in the Common Room had said, he was available for talking with about anything between two and 5 on Saturday.

"Just a moment." His voice called out and Harry stepped back, leaning against the wall opposite the door and waited, he could hear the muffled voices of him talking to someone, a girl if he had to hazard a guess. The door opened after about a minute and Cho Chang walked out with Flitwick following behind her. "I hope I've managed to put some of your concerns at ease Miss Chang." He spoke politely and she nodded her head.

"Thank you Professor, I should be okay now." She said happily and then noticed Harry. "Oh! Harry, I didn't get a chance to see you before the holidays, how are you feeling now?" She asked as she noticed him standing there.

"I'm fine now, how are you, that was a big fall you took in the match, I should be asking if you're okay."

"I wasn't the one in a coma for a month, I was out in a week, Madam Pomfrey healed me up and I was back to work, did you manage to catch up on your lessons?" She asked, reaching up and brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I spent a bit of time reading and doing the work over the holidays, I'm pretty caught up,"

"As much as I am glad to hear you helping the younger years Miss Chang, I don't think Mr Potter knocked on my door to speak to you." Flitwick spoke in amusement. Cho turned to the professor and nodded her head in agreement.

"Of course Professor, I'll speak to you later Harry." She said with a small wave and started to walk away as Harry entered the office.

"Now, what brings you to visit me Mr Potter?" He asked politely as he sat down in his chair, the door to his office closing on its own behind them.

"I was coming to see if anything else had come up about the attack during the Quidditch Match." Harry said watching the professor's reaction, to his credit he looked disappointed about it.

"I'm afraid there hasn't been much of any progress at the moment, Professor Quirrel and myself are investigating but from what we've been able to tell it was most likely one of the older students that did it. We do not believe that it was done to try and kill you more to take you out to increase Slytherin's chances for the match."

"Are you sure? That seems a little bit extreme even for some of the Slytherin students."

"Mr Potter, you know who you are and what your image represents." Flitwick reminded him, "you are an icon to the Wizarding World for what happened when you were younger, to the light you are a saviour, to the... darker side of the spectrum you are the thing that stopped their goals from coming about." Flitwick paused, lifting his cup of tea and taking a drink. "I would not put it past any of those that believed that You-Know-Who was right to try and act like that and if you happened to perish in an 'unfortunate' accident then I have no doubt that some of them would have been more than happy to take the chance." He explained sadly, "I do not wish to believe that any student in this school would willingly try to injure or possibly kill another student but I can't rule it out in a situation like this. But another question has arisen, one that intrigues the other staff more than anything else. That pool of water that you landed in saved your life, no student could cast something like that and we have no idea how it appeared. I don't suppose you have any idea about it do you?" Flitwick asked on the off chance that Harry might know.

The kid shrugged, doing his best to remain impassive, "I don't know Professor, I figured it would have been Professor McGonagall who did it considering how good she is in Transfiguration." Harry suggested but Flitwick shook his head.

"It was not Professor McGonagall; she was just as surprised as we were that the water appeared. But I am not one to question good fortune such as this, you are alive, we will find who did this and there will be the necessary punishment for it. We do not play with the lives of students here." He said, his cheerful demeanour shifting to a serious one almost on a dime, "each wand is a lethal weapon, the simplest spell that we cast can be used for dangerous purposes it's why we do not allow magic outside of the classroom. A simple levitation charm can prove just as fatal as the killing curse, all it takes is for you to levitate the person out of a window and end the spell."

"And yet children are given access to these." Harry said holding his wand, examining it with a small smile. It was finely crafted, but it could probably do with a clean.

"Children that can be taught responsibility, it would be remiss of us not to teach children this. I know Professor McGonagall warns all students that enter her class that Transfiguration is not a topic that should be taken lightly and although I do try and make my own lessons light hearted, I do step in when students act out of line. But so far I have rarely if ever needed to act upon that," he stopped giving Harry a look of warning as the boy continued to toy with his wand. Grinning sheepishly, Harry put his wand away. "A wand should only be drawn for use and in times of a duel, you never know what accident might happen when toying with a wand like that.

"I understand Professor; I was just thinking about something regarding my wand is all." Harry said calmly, "I was thinking back too what Ollivander said about it."

"Do you mind if I ask you what that is?" He questioned and Harry shook his head.

"No I don't mind professor, he told me that the core of this wand, a phoenix feather also gave one other feather." Harry stopped, pausing as he remembered the quiet words of Ollivander. "The feather that was given is in the wand that gave me my scar." Harry explained and Flitwick gasped in surprise.

"That is quite an amazing coincidence." Flitwick muttered and let out a quiet sigh. "You-Know-Who was a powerful force to be reckoned with, even before he underwent the rituals that changed him so much." Flitwick commented and Harry looked at him curiously.

"What was his name? All I've ever heard him called by is You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. What is the man's name?" Harry asked.

Flitwick hesitated, the name still sent chills down his spine, but there was another reason that the name was not spoken, a lingering effect from the end of the war. "What you have to understand Mr Potter is that not only did he inspire terror in all who stood against him, his name became Taboo, more than just the Muggle concept of a forbidden word, in the magical world to say his name was to break enchantments and protections around you. He knew when a person spoke his name and where that person was. Only one person spoke his name without fear and that was because he was the one thing that You-Know-Who feared."

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Correct, if he was not in Hogwarts with wards that were easily able to resist the Taboo then he was out normally dealing with his attempts against the Wizarding World. His name was V...Voldemort." Flitwick said, a shiver running up his spine.

"What do we know about him? where did he come from? why did he go the way he did?" Harry asked quickly, listing off questions that had been in the back of his mind ever since he had first learnt of Voldemort. "How did he die when he tried to kill me?"

"The questions are many but I'm afraid my answers are non-existent Mr Potter; I know little about him or where he came from. I can only assume power was the reason he went the way he did. There are claims that he was the heir of Slytherin and had taken up his ancestors cause against Muggleborns and Muggles alike, but the truth of the matter is that I know little about him. Only one person could probably give you the information and that would be Professor Dumbledore. As for how you survived all those years ago, I cannot say for certain. While I would like to believe the reason being your mothers sacrifice, I do not truly believe that to be the cause, I have heard you say the same. How could she be the only one to love a child enough that it would negate the spell." It was true, Harry had asked that question several times before, it had made people stop and think but at the same time many were just dismissive. Magic worked in strange and mysterious ways but to Harry it just seemed too far out of the realm of reality. "If I had to guess, your mother was responsible for your protection but not in the way that everyone else would like to believe, I remember her in classes and even after she left she kept in regular contact, always testing new ideas for Charms and combinations with Ancient Runes, she had a mind that would put Miss Granger to shame." Flitwick smiled and chuckled slightly as he remembered some of the conversations that he had with Lily all those years ago. "I would bet my vault that she found something that would work, but the house was destroyed that night and no one has disturbed it since the Auror's performed their examination of the crime scene."

"No one? so it's just a ruined house now?" Harry asked, sadness seeping into his voice as he thought about it. It hurt him more to think that there was now just dead space there instead of it being used, even if it was not kept in the family and sold off to someone else, that wouldn't have bothered him nearly as much as dealing with the fact that all they left behind was a memory of death there.

"It's a monument now, a tribute to the Potters and to you," Flitwick explained, seeing the war of emotions playing across Harry's face. "It is why you are held in such high regard Harry, even though you yourself didn't do anything, the entire situation brought hope back to the Wizarding World. Though it is a slow process and they have not learnt as much as they should from it, there are good people who would be willing to do more to make the future better."

"What happened to his followers?" Harry asked, leaning forward slightly in the chair, he had heard others say that they had got away with it, returning to society and acting like nothing ever happened but Harry needed to know for certain

"The ones that were caught and tried were sentenced to Azkaban, many of his followers still linger there, serving sentences that will last long after their bodies give up from that hellish place. Others though were more fortunate, though it cost them a pretty penny to keep out of prison I have no doubt."

"Then the system is corrupt?" Harry asked and Flitwick hesitated a moment before nodding.

"In its current form it is, I have no doubt that for the near future it will change little. Why do you want to know so much now if you don't mind me asking?"

"I want to know because I know so little of it, I'm always hearing about how I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, I am a hero of the wizarding world but then I know little about what happened, you yourself said the same theory that I thought of about the Quidditch game, someone with dark leanings tried to kill me and make it look like an accident, you can't defend yourself against what you don't know."

"That is where we become involved Mr Potter, it is not for you to shoulder the burdens." Flitwick said after a few moments of silence, he paused again and smiled thoughtfully. "But, I understand that you can't always guarantee that there will be a Professor around to assist you." He agreed and Harry looked at him curiously. "I can't do anything about it now, teaching this magic in your first year is designed to help stabilise your core, to allow a better focus on future spell casting. The building blocks for a foundation so to speak. I believe I can spare some time to teach you to defend yourself." Flitwick offered and Harry looked at him in shock, "it wouldn't be until the start of your second year but I feel you would do well with these lessons. I know you're starting to get a bit bored with the work at the moment and I would normally offer you a chance to study ahead but again, as I said the lessons are designed so that we can give time for your magical core to properly develop. To rush it could cause problems further down the line. Yes, second year should be soon enough." He added the final bit to himself more than Harry.

"You're going to teach me extra spells?" Harry asked in shock and Flitwick nodded his head, "thank you sir, I won't let you down!" Harry said happily.

"I know you won't because if you did, the lessons would end Mr Potter, this will be done in our free time so you can understand that if your work slips then the lessons will have to end." Flitwick forewarned.

"I understand sir." With that, Harry gave his farewell to his Head of House and exited the room, so many thoughts going through his head both for the now and the near future.

TBC

Next chapter done, I know there hasn't been much in the way of Bioshock at the moment but it's going to be starting probably from the next chapter or the one after that. I hope you like the chapter, I'm setting up a couple of building blocks for future events and trying to show the ripple effect that an unexpected player is having on the field.

Just a reminder that there is one more chapter after this one then the two week hiatus for Christmas.

Thanks again for all the story favourites, author favourites and reviews, each of them have been a godsend during this time. Thank you.


	12. Chapter 12: A look at things to come

**Chapter 12: A look at things to come.**

 _Disclaimer: you know this routine, I know this routine, I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock_

 _'Another day another class and another confrontation with Blaize'_ Harry thought in frustration as he stood across the corridor from Blaize, the kid had no tact, no ability to think in Harry's opinion, he wasn't ahead of Harry and that instantly meant that Harry was cheating. "You think you're so great don't you Potter." Blaize sneered and Harry rolled his eyes.

"How do you come to that conclusion Blaize?" Harry asked, not using his surname just to spite him.

"You think you're so great doing all these spells,"

"Yes, I really think I'm great because I'm learning to do the magic that we're being shown in a school designed to make us do magic." Harry cut him off sarcastically, "come up with something decent man!" Harry protested as he turned to walk away.

"You wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for your friend." Blaize taunted and Harry froze mid step. "The only way you can get good grades, by taking advantage of your friend." He continued to mock and Harry turned back to look at him with a look of loathing and hatred.

"Tread carefully Zabini." Harry snapped in anger, there were few things that he wouldn't let people get away with and insulting his friends was one of them.

"Is that how she got her job here? With your name and popularity, just to make sure that the reputation of the Boy-Who-Lived never came into question." He continued, stepping forwards and getting in Harry's face, "You're not as good as you'd like everyone to think you are, does she teach you everything or are you actually capable of learning stuff yourself."

"You're either deluded or stupid, its common knowledge that she's learning the same things we are. If this is the best thing that you can come up with then you may as well walk away Zabini, you're embarrassing yourself." Harry said, calming down again. "It's pathetic, but I guess sometimes wit and cunning can skip a generation." Harry taunted in response, gasps escaping from some of the Purebloods at the reference.

"Think you're so clever with that comment Potter? Heard a rumour and decided you'd spout it as fact?" Blaize said in anger, the urge to lash out at Harry sitting right there under the surface as he tried to play what he had planned. "Perfect Potter with the skill given to him through other people dying around him." The silence was almost deafening, the students were shocked by what Blaize had said, Harry was stunned, caught flat footed for a moment as his mind registered what had been said. He opened his mouth to speak but Blaize cut him off. "Look at me, I'm Harry Potter, saviour of the world and burden of all sins, I am the Reincarnation of Atlas." He mocked grandly the Slytherin students laughing at his overacting.

The laughter stopped.

Every window in the corridor shattered.

The students screamed, covering their heads as the glass exploded outwards raining down onto the students and floor alike. After it stopped the students looked around, confused as to what had happened.

"I think..." A cold, voice spoke up behind the group of Slytherins that sent chills down the spines of everyone there, "that it's time for you to move on." Slowly the group turned around and they let out a sigh of relief as they saw Professor Snape standing there. "And Potter, detention for damage with your uncontrolled magic." He said and Harry glared before turning and walking away. The rest of the students were still standing watching the scene and Snape turned his look on to the rest of them. "I believe I said for you to move on." He pointed out and they quickly started moving on, hushed whispers among the groups about the display of magic that Harry had shown through his uncontrolled outburst. Snape waited until the corridor was clear and then turned his head, looking at the doorway. "I expected an adult to have better control of her magic Miss DeWitt." Snape taunted as the door opened and she stepped out of the classroom. "You should have stepped in earlier if it angered you so." He commented dismissively, but there was a slight mocking undertone to it. "You're bleeding." He commented and Elizabeth who hadn't said anything at this point, cursed as she withdrew a cloth from her pocket and dabbed it at her nose, wiping away the small trickle of blood that formed.

"I think the pressure of that magic caused it. I'm fine," she said trying to dismiss it with barely a thought as she walked out of the classroom, looking down the corridor. "Did I do that?" She asked in amazement, looking back at Snape to see his quirked eyebrow. "I guess I underestimated my own strength." She commented lightly, trying to play it off and Snape continued to look at her, "is there a problem Professor Snape?"

"You mean, besides the hallway of shattered glass and damaged portraits? some of which have been in the castle for hundreds of years? No, no problem at all." He commented, sarcasm dripping in his voice and Elizabeth looked guilty, wincing slightly at the statement. "No doubt Mr Filch will have a fun time cleaning this mess." He said and Elizabeth laughed nervously. "Though I am curious, why you didn't step in to help Potter."

"Not that the reason is any of your business but he must deal with his own problems as much as anyone else, it would not be helpful for me to fight all of his battles." Elizabeth explained, taking another look at the damage that had been caused. "His actions will shape him, his choices will be his choices and will form him into the man he will become." She explained politely, she didn't like Snape but she wasn't going to try and antagonise him. "If you'll excuse me, I have places I need to be." She said, walking away from Snape quickly, glass crunching under her boots. Snape lingered for a moment, looking at the corridor and the damage that had been done before turning and walking back the way he had come, one single thought going through his head. _'Why would the name Atlas set her off like that?'_

 _HPCVHPCVHPCV_

Elizabeth walked through the corridor quickly, taking care to avoid grinding up the glass too much as she thought about everything that had happened at the moment. She couldn't believe how she had reacted... no that wasn't correct at all, she could easily believe it. The mere mention of the name Atlas made her blood boil. That man had in his own way done more damage to her than Comstock ever could. She subconsciously rubbed at her left eyebrow, the phantom pain from her time at his hands coming back to her mind.

Would the mad man have gone through with it?

she shivered, hugging herself as she did, rubbing her arms to dispel the chill that had settled in. The man would of, she had no doubt about that, especially if she had given him the information. But at the time... she would have welcomed it. She shook her head, dislodging the thought and banishing it to the back of her mind. It didn't benefit anyone now to think on that. She walked down the steps at the end of the hallway, grateful that they hadn't decided to move at this time and made her way down to the Entrance Hall. To Hogsmeade she had to go. The letter Draco had given her had been chilling to say the least. She should have thought about this possible outcome when she started what she did but it never occurred to her. A simple note, a simple meeting, but the underlying meaning behind it was there. the note was still in her pocket folded up but she didn't need to look at it to know just what was on it.

 _'Three Broomsticks, Monday, we need to talk.'_

Such a simple note that had made her think on what it could be, there is only one thing that she could think of that would lead to this abruptness in the note and an immediate request to meet. Narcissa had found something regarding her family. Or that she had found a lack of something in regards to her family. She walked along the grounds, aware of the quietness as she did, the students were in class and the grounds were deserted.

 _Thwap_

A noise broke the silence.

 _Thwap_

She looked down the path, her gut telling her what was ahead, the Lutece Twins standing on opposite sides of the path, rackets in hand hitting a tennis ball between each other. "She worked it out brother."

"You say she worked it out but she was essentially told."

"It's strange how she didn't think of this before she acted."

"We did explain it at the beginning didn't we?"

"Did we?"

"We did," Robert hit the ball back to Rosalind, "But perhaps we should have waited a bit longer for her to regain herself after waking up." another hit and Elizabeth watched the two.

"You knew this was going to be the outcome when you spoke to me at the Quidditch Match didn't you." Elizabeth questioned, resisting the urge to shout at the two. Of course they knew, they always seemed to know everything going on around them.

"Of course, the evidence was all there from the moment you arrived. If there is no Lighthouse, no city and there is no man, then that leads to the conclusion that there would be no DeWitt and no Comstock. One needs the others, they're all connected." Robert explained.

"Then why didn't you tell me this before I sent that letter."

"But we did, when you first awoke we told you about the changes," Rosalind interrupted, barely paying attention to the tennis ball as she hit it back. "But you didn't think it through all the way. We cannot be blamed for the actions that you take. All you can do now is take the situation and use it, or leave." Rosalind added the end part as a dismissive statement, not really expecting her to take it.

"I can't leave yet, there's still things going on that I want to find the answers to." Elizabeth replied dismissing the notion just as quickly as the woman had. She had become involved in this, there was a threat to the kids and she couldn't turn her back on it again, she couldn't do what she did with Sally, let the children suffer for her own personal needs. What came from this meeting she would deal with when it happened.

"If you can't leave and want to stay we won't stop you, remember the door is always there for you."

"Unless you die again, we really can't guarantee the door to leave will be there like before."

"Though there would be someone else that can possibly open the doors."

"Harry."

"It was interesting how you chose to save him, did you mean for him to lose a finger like that?"

"That wasn't my plan, just to try and save him."

"Either way, the deed is done though part of me wonders whether or not he needed to have that happen to trigger the ability."

"How do you mean?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, as far as she was aware she was able to open the tears and enter the different worlds because she had lost her finger as a child in the tear that took her to Columbia.

"The container you were in shared your power, in theory it should have diminished over time, returning to its origin or just fading away into the natural energy of the world. But magic, just like you seems to break rules wherever it pleases." Rosalind explained, catching the ball in her free hand. "The bigger question that has arisen is your magic. You are from a world without magic and yet you're able to use it. Is it connected to the boy? the tears? the unique circumstances you're in?"

"You're saying I shouldn't be able to use magic?" Elizabeth repeated to make sure she was clear with what they were saying, so far she hadn't had any problems with the magic she had cast and it did seem to come easy enough to her. But, could there be something behind it that she was missing. It had crossed her mind when she first cast the spell that showed she had the ability but she had dismissed it, planning to look into it when she had more knowledge on the area. Now however, she realised that she had forgotten about that little project completely.

"We believe it's related to your awakening, your power was transferred to him but at the same time, nature abhors a vacuum. the loss of your power would have to be filled from something."

"And you believe it was at that time, I gained some of his magic?" She asked and Robert shrugged his shoulders.

"A theory, nothing more, nothing less. An educated guess from the evidence that we have seen."

"Though a plausible one, a woman from a world with no magic spontaneously gaining the ability, the only logical conclusion." Rosalind concluded, "Something for you to think about I'm sure but you must be off, you must arrive punctually to your meeting mustn't you." She finished as they disappeared again, the ball that she had been holding dropping to the floor, rolling across the path towards Elizabeth. For several moments she stood there, her mind processing what she was told. It was just another thing to be added to the pile of chaos that she was dealing with. Still, at least no one was shooting at her this time. That had to be a bonus, didn't it?

She continued on, her meeting at Hogsmeade awaited.

HPCVHPCV

Harry had to listen to the people whispering, it was always there, it was always happening, now it related to the burst of magic that had shattered the windows. He knew he hadn't been responsible for it. But no one would listen to him. He sat silently in the Great Hall having lunch, listening to the people talk, listening to the rumours spread about what happened, about his magic lashing out and breaking every window in the corridor. No doubt Snape would have him doing detention with Filch to clean up the mess. But around him he could hear them whispering commenting about it.

"Poor Potter, can't control his magic."

He closed his eyes, not looking behind him, knowing already who it was, Blaize Zabini still attempting to antagonize him. "Why are you still doing this Blaize?" Harry asked in resignation, not even willing himself to turn around and deal with him. "If this was in fact the truth and you wanted to start trouble with me, why are you risking it, I just allegedly blew out every window in a corridor of a heavily enchanted and protected castle." He paused for dramatic effect, the look of the other students gave the input on the situation that he wanted. "If I did that there, what does that mean that I'd do to you?" He asked pointedly. Blaize floundered for a second, unsure of what to say and Harry continued. "And if that is the result of you angering me, look around you Blaize." He said again, another gesture made to the wall of the Great Hall with its large glass windows. "Do you really want that to rain down on all of us?" He asked and Blaize glared and backed off. When he was gone, Harry turned back to the group of friends and started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I have no idea how the glass shattered, I know it wasn't me." He said, cackling again the looks of disbelief from the other students were just golden to him. "Seriously, I'm not some super powered spell caster." Harry protested and still there was disbelief in their eyes. "Oy vey." He muttered with a roll of his eyes. "It was not me." He stated with finality, returning his attention to his food.

Over at the Slytherin Table, Blaize was fuming at the way he had been shut down. He had hoped to goad Harry Potter into a duel, to spark enough anger in him that he would do something and either allow Blaize to challenge Harry or vice versa. But it hadn't happened the kid remained too calm for the situation. "This wouldn't have happened if he had been sorted into Gryffindor." He muttered quietly thinking about how he could move. He should have played it smarter, it was a Ravenclaw he was trying to anger, they weren't exactly known for their quick temper. More their detachment from reality.

"You're never going to get what you want like this." Draco said from where he was sitting opposite Blaize spoke. Blaize cursed his own inattentiveness, he had been trying to avoid speaking about this around Draco because of how he had acted at the end of the last term but here he was speaking without thinking.

"Why do you care? It's your cousin is it not?" Blaize asked and Draco shrugged.

"My reasons are my own Blaize, but if you want to get a rise out of Potter, you're going the wrong way about it. He knows that Elizabeth can defend herself, she did take down a Mountain Troll." Draco pointed out, gesturing with the fork that he was holding at the time. "So you don't try and strike at him through her." He paused waiting a second to see if Blaize was paying attention. The other Slytherin student was half looking and half pretending to be focusing on everything but Draco. "What does he lack that you can mock?" Draco spoke bluntly and Blaize looked at him.

"Common Sense?" Blaize said with a smirk and Draco chuckled.

"well... besides that," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

"Understanding of anything that isn't in a book?"

"Okay besides that as well."

"Any skill in potions what so ever?"

"Besides tha... you know what, I'm just going to flat out tell you because we would be here for a long time pointing out every flaw that he has." Draco said, chuckling at Blaize. "His parents, if you want to anger him just use his parents. I have no doubt that mocking them will give you the reaction you want. Or there's always his other friends, you saw how he reacted at Halloween when Weasley stepped too far." Draco said, stopping to take a drink from his glass. "But do keep it away from glass this time, I don't think we want another repeat of the corridor now do we?" He asked slightly jokingly but Blaize was already back in his own thoughts.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Elizabeth entered the Three Broomsticks, she saw Rosie standing behind the bar talking to a patron. The woman smiled and made a small gesture to her to head to one of the back rooms, reserved for private guests before returning to her conversation.

Elizabeth walked through, careful not to bump into one of the patrons as she did, the feeling of trepidation was building up and she found herself hesitating at the door. She stopped, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself down before she opened the door. She entered the room, looking around, it was a simple private room, a table, chairs, a side counter with a tray of different drinks sitting on them and at the main table, sat Narcissa. She was watching Elizabeth carefully as she entered the room. "I'm glad you could make it." She spoke calmly and Elizabeth didn't say anything, letting the door close behind her.

"I wasn't really given much of an option was I?" Elizabeth asked slightly bitterly as she looked at the pale haired woman. "Your note didn't so much as ask as it did demand I turn up." She walked over to the table, pulling the chair out to sit down.

"It did come off that way didn't it." Narcissa said with a slight dismissive tone, "but I'm sure you can understand my urging considering what I no doubt know that you know what I found when I started looking into your past."

"I can guess, but I'm curious as to what you found." Elizabeth said calmly, sitting down in the seat.

"I did some digging, through some... associates in the American Ministry and they knew nothing about you." Narcissa paused, taking a drink, letting the information sink in. "Every time a magical child is born, their records automatically update, their records track where they were born, when they were born and it allows them to stay ahead of everything and keep an eye on magical children born to non-magical families." She stopped again, gesturing to the pot of tea that sat in the centre of the table. "Help yourself, I have a feeling we're going to be here a while." She said and slowly Elizabeth poured herself a cup of tea. "You were an interesting person when I first spoke to you. Your ideas were fresh even from an outsider's perspective. It made me curious as to where you came from and who had taught you."

"Self-taught, I was reading a book about Hogwarts the night before." Elizabeth admitted calmly as she took a sip of tea. It didn't seem that big of a problem to admit that she was completely clueless to the wizarding world before she had gone to Diagon Alley. It was essentially the same thing she had said before, unknowing of her magic and discovered by Bathsheda. In a roundabout way it was the truth.

"You are perceptive then." Narcissa complimented. "And open minded enough to look at things through a different perspective." She added thoughtfully and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Everything is open to interpretation; a single change can alter events to come in ways that we can never know until it happens. If it ever happens." She replied, it was something that had sat in the back of her mind, point A didn't necessarily lead to Point B, it could jump several Points and end up coming out at Point Q depending on the action that was taken at the start of the chain.

"No doubt you've heard tales about my family." She said almost nonchalantly and Elizabeth's brow furrowed in confusion wondering where this was going to go.

"I have heard rumours and talks about your husband. But not about you. Where your name is mentioned it's only through connection to your siblings and parentage." Elizabeth admitted again, "I know your family is believed to be 'dark' and that your husband allegedly served Voldemort." She stopped at the flinch, it was interesting to how much fear his name generated even among alleged followers. "But charges were dropped under claims of mind control." She paused again, taking another sip of tea. "Which to be blunt makes me wonder why you were married to him. Word about the Black Family is that they were some of the strongest around, to marry someone so weak willed..." She trailed off, surprised that she had spoken so much on that and thrown in that thought.

Narcissa smiled but didn't say anything in response. "It is true that my husband was involved with the situation but what I want to know is with how you have looked into it, with everything you've heard, what do you believe about his cause?" She asked and Elizabeth shrugged.

"He reminds me of someone," she started evasively, "his plan was to purge those he felt were unclean or unworthy of using magic, to create his own Utopia, but the result would end the same way. Someone stood in the way and stopped him."

"Potter."

"You're going to have to be more specific than that, there were three of them in the house that night." Elizabeth couldn't help but make the jab. "From what I've been told, his father died first, long enough for his mother and Harry to get to a different part of the house."

"And he killed her as well."

"Yes, but then the mystery comes up. How did he survive?" She asked and Narcissa looked just as confused by the question as Elizabeth felt. "We have no evidence as to what happened in there on that dark night, we have no proof other than what some people have guessed at. To claim that Harry was responsible for it when he was a year old would be negligent and dismissive of Lily Potter to which many people, including... I want to say evil families have admitted that she was one of the best witches in that generation. You yourself have said as much in the letters we've exchanged."

"I have never been afraid to give credit where it was due." She responded with a nod thinking over the idea.

"But I don't think you've just come here to ask me about my thoughts on Voldemort." Another flinch, "what did you want?"

"You don't exist, there is no record of you in the Magical or Muggle world, my associates kept looking after I started the initial investigation and they found nothing. That makes me curious, who are you really and where are you from?"

"I am Elizabeth DeWitt and I am from America." Elizabeth replied confidently. She knew who she was, she knew where she was from, she knew who her parents were and just because Narcissa had been unable to find them doesn't mean they didn't exist.

"Who are your parents?"

"My father is Booker DeWitt. My mother, I never knew my mother, she died during Childbirth." Elizabeth answered with the only truth that she knew. She hadn't gone digging into the past, she didn't want to tempt herself with changing what happened. At least not at this time. She studied Narcissa as she absorbed the information and saw the slight pained look at the thought of her mother dying like that.

"What year were you born?"

"1893" Elizabeth responded clearly and now knew that something was horribly wrong with her. She wasn't going to tell THAT bit of information. Narcissa looked at her in shock, barely managing to keep hold of her cup. "What have you done to me?" Elizabeth asked in shock as Narcissa slowly placed the cup back down on the table.

"Veriatserum" Narcissa said simply, "several drops mixed with the tea before you arrived." She explained, her hand gently resting on her wand to defend herself if Elizabeth lashed out. She was a bit out of touch with combat magic but she didn't doubt that she could take a girl who was barely trained in ways of magic. "It's truth serum. I needed to find the truth about you." Narcissa admitted and in the back of her mind, supressed a shiver of fear at the look of loathing that came from Elizabeth, it was one that promised revenge.

"You couldn't just ask like a normal person?" Elizabeth responded harshly. "How long until this wears off?"

"long enough to find the information that I want to make sure you're not a threat to my son." Narcissa explained and Elizabeth laughed a bitter laugh.

"The only threat to your son is your own master if he ever returns."

"You think he's coming back?"

"I KNOW he's coming back." Elizabeth responded bitterly and Narcissa paled. "These little games that you're playing with your politics, creating separation between the different blood groups of the wizarding world are going to cause so many problems for you in the future." Elizabeth promised and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You can see it? can't you."

"See it? I got curious and visited it." Elizabeth snapped out and then cursed herself revealing more into her power than she had wanted to. "This isn't just truth serum is it. It lower inhibition when a person gives an answer. They can't just give the barest detail or the vaguest reference to the answer that would be the truth... they actually want to answer with detail." She said in realisation and Narcissa nodded her head.

"That's correct, but what do you mean you visited it? How? A Time Turner can only travel backwards in time!" Narcissa questioned in disbelief.

"I can do better than tell you, I can show you." Elizabeth said condescendingly as the room started to shift and change around them. Narcissa looked in shock, glancing around as the room quickly became a ghost of its former self. the room now missing its roof, the walls burnt down and damaged. she looked in shock at the area around that would have been Hogsmeade and saw much of the same result. Destruction everywhere. "Welcome to the future. To where Voldemort wins. Death is all that you will find here." She explained, standing up out of the chair and moving through the remnants of the room back into where the main area of the bar used to be.

Now there was only ruins.

Narcissa hesitated for a moment, part of her thinking that Elizabeth had been lying, that this was some kind of complex spell that tricked her senses. But still her choice was to sit here or follow the Elizabeth that had just walked out of the bar and into the street. A chill wind brushed over her and she shuddered, quickly following after. "Where have you taken us?"

"To another time, to where he returned and won." She said sadly, walking towards Hogwarts. "This is the result of your Pureblood agenda taken to the extremes that Voldemort wants." She said with a grand gesture, turning to face Narcissa. "Just what you wanted wasn't it?"

"We never wanted this." Narcissa said softly looking around at the devastation.

"What did you think was going to happen with an agenda that was built on Hatred and Bigotry!?" Elizabeth asked, her voice being carried in the otherwise deathly silent location. "What did you think was going to happen after he won and those that fought with him were now kings and queens of a dead land?" She pointed in one direction, Narcissa followed the gaze and cringed as she realised what it was.

Rows of Tombstones, the Shrieking Shack had once been there but it was gone and now there was just a field with rows upon rows of Tombstones. "Say hello to the last of the light, those that died were buried here by the neutrals. Then the Dark turned on the Neutrals and murdered them for not bowing. They didn't get graves." Elizabeth said sadly. "Just a hole where the bodies were dumped to get them out of the way."

"This isn't how it was supposed to be."

"You let a Megalomaniac take control and cleanse the world in what many religious fanatics would call righteous fire." Elizabeth retorted angrily. "What did you think was going to happen. That the people you oppressed were going to roll over and take it, you backed them into a corner and they fought, they fought for their freedoms and they fought for their lives and died for a chance to stop him."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because you wanted to know, you wanted to see. Because this is a world that I almost created in a different time, a different place." She explained wishing the potion would wear off quicker. "The Seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the Mountains of Man." Elizabeth recited the sentence that had been a beacon for the people of Columbia. The possible future that Elizabeth would have had to endure if she hadn't broken her own cycle. "This is the result of the path that gets Harry killed. This is the result of people trying to sabotage and MURDER him. This is the result of just one of those plans succeeding. But this is not the only possible result. But this is one of the better ones if Voldemort wins. The man would quite happily become king of a dead land just to claim that he was ruler. And this is where that dream became reality. And now I ask you a question." Elizabeth concluded, turning her back to Narcissa, looking up in the distance to where Hogwarts would be, behind the darkness that lingered and surrounded them. "Draco mentioned that you're Harry's family, and that you stand with family, can you stand against him? can you fight that oath you have to family, knowing that the result is right here in front of you?" The area around the two started to melt away and they were back in the room of the bar. Narcissa stood there, pale and shaken, Elizabeth stood grim and determined. "You have a choice; it will affect how you progress from this point forwards. Make your choice, you get to help change the future away from the result I've shown you." Elizabeth explained and turned walking towards the door. "I'll see you at Easter." She said simply, opening the door and walking out, letting it close quietly behind her.

Narcissa stood, shocked at how it had all played out. This wasn't how it was meant to go, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all. She was supposed to speak to Elizabeth, find out the truth in regards to who she was and then progress from there, taking advantage of her ability to see. But she could do so much more than that.

More plans needed to be made... her mind pulled her back to the dead town and she closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. More plans, drastically different to what she had originally wanted would have to be implemented. She knew of two people that could help change these plans for the better. She apparated out of the room, wanting to put as much distance from her and Hogsmeade as possible.

She needed to speak to family and only one of them was in any position to talk right now.

Once again Harry found himself alone, alone with his thoughts as he walked through the castle. Blaize had been a problem recently and Harry didn't know what his game was. He had been more annoying than normal and had been purposely trying to antagonise him.

What was the reason for it? What did he hope to gain by trying to anger him like he was? he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought about the situation. He had separated from his friends, claiming he needed time to think and he was honest about it. He did need time to think on things but it was nothing to do with school but how Blaize had been acting. He had gone from the subtle attempts in to blatant, confrontational ones.

It didn't make sense.

A person's style does not change that dramatically in this short amount of time. So there had to be a reason for it. His mind drifted back to what he had been told before, that there were many a dark family that would be willing to try and take him out. Would that include using a child to do it?

"Potter." The very familiar voice of Blaize spoke up and Harry let out an angry sigh as he slowly turned around to face the Slytherin.

"Are you taking up stalking now? Seriously go away!" Harry said in resignation, knowing that it wasn't going to be that simple in the slightest. "I don't have time to deal with you so either get to the point as to why you're here or get away from me." Harry said in frustration turning and walking away.

"That's it Potter. Run away like a coward, just like your parents did." Blaize taunted already going straight for the step up on the insults. Harry stopped, not turning around to face him.

"My comment hinting at your mother was out of line earlier, I freely admit this. You don't want to start going the route that you're going." Harry warned quietly.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" Blaize asked and Harry glanced back over his shoulder at him. "Cry to your mothe... oh wait you can't." He continued and Harry really wanted to walk away. It was sounding way too much like Dudley and it wasn't even funny. This was not how Blaize normally acted. Again it struck him as too weird for what was happening. "It would be right for a Potter to run away like a coward. Look what happened to them when the Dark Lord came, they ran and hid and were hunted like little rats."

"And what did your mother do? Bow and beg to have the potential to meet husband number 5? or was it 6?" Harry asked just as bitterly.

"At least she's still alive and free to do as she chooses and not in a shallow grave somewhere... do you even know where they're buried?" Blaize asked and Harry felt like he had been struck. No he didn't know where they were buried, he knew there was a memorial where the house used to be but he didn't know where they were buried. "If anyone even bothered burying her. A filth mudblood all too eager to spread her..." Whatever he was about to say was cut off as Harry spun around, punching Blaize in the jaw.

"If you want a fight so badly, you've got one." Harry snapped angrily, Blaize hesitated for a moment, rubbing his jaw where Harry had hit him.

"Touch a nerve there did I Potter? Fine a Wizards duel tonight at Midnight, the Trophy Room. I won't bring a second because I won't need one. Feel free to bring one if you don't think you can handle it." Blaize said and turned, walking away. Harry watched the Slytherin walk away, the urge to strike out at him was still there but he stopped himself. He wouldn't hit someone in the back like that. No matter how much he felt they deserved it.

Tonight he'd turn up and have that Wizards duel. He'd vent some anger at him when he got there.

Harry turned, beginning the journey back to the Common Room when he stopped. This all seemed too obvious now. Antagonising him, goading him and challenging him as he did. All a set up to get him to the Trophy Room long past curfew. He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand as he realised that he had just been played like a fiddle. "No doubt Filch or someone like Snape will be there." He muttered to himself before smiling. "That's fine with me, I have something that they don't know about." He laughed walking down the corridor, the Portraits giving him strange looks as he continued to chuckle at the situation.

Reaching the Common Room, he solved the riddle and entered, Terry and Su were already back, sat at a table in the corner of the room and he walked over to them.

"Got whatever was in your head squared away?" Terry asked.

"Kind of, I think I know what Blaize was trying to do now, still not a hundred percent sure about it but I'm pretty confident about it." Harry replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down.

"And what does he have planned that requires him to be so blunt?" Su asked, looking up from her book.

"He wants to set me up to get me punished." Harry guessed and explained the situation.

"It's kind of sad that it's the route he's going with to get you there. Doesn't really scream Slytherin." Su commented, turning the page in her book. "There are so many different ways that he could have lured you there." She said with a smirk and Harry agreed with that sentiment. "Give him time, I'm sure he'll step up his game in the future. But the bigger question is, knowing it's more than likely a trap, are you going to go?"

"I don't see why not. I have a way to get around undetected if need be." Harry replied and they looked up at him curiously.

"You have a way?" Terry repeated questioningly.

"A couple actually. Can't tell I'm afraid, trade secret." He said jokingly, "but all you need to know is that I won't get caught."

With that the conversation switched to idle chatter, largely the two trying to work out what his plan was. He hadn't told either of them about the cloak. He wasn't sure why he hadn't they were his friends but it just felt personal to him. Maybe in the future he would but for now, he just wanted to keep something of his family secret and secure for now. the walls in this castle has ears... not just the ones painted on either.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Draco smiled as he returned to the Common Room, giving the password and entering into the room, he was confident on the situation, no one had seen him do it, no one had seen the spell he had cast when they first woke up on Blaize. He was a bit surprised no one called him out on how he had been acting but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It was a simple plan that was probably not going to work but he had to try something. Elizabeth and Harry were good friends, he was doing good at avoiding getting in to trouble and the last time the two had shown a fracture in their friendship was when he got in trouble, so he was trying to create another fracture, see how it would play out. A confundus charm on Blaize left him suggestible to what Draco wanted. Antagonism towards Harry, a level that was blatantly obvious that it was trying to goad him. He wanted to see how much Harry could take before he reacted, it would allow him to plan things for the future. He dropped into one of the leather chairs and stared at the fireplace thoughtfully. There were plans in action, he knew that his mother wanted him to gain Elizabeth's friendship and he wasn't a hundred percent sure why, she had powerful magic he could see that but her actions, her attitudes, they didn't match up to the philosophy that his mother or his father had raised him with, but its what they asked him to do and it's what he would do.

He wasn't even doing this to try and make Harry hate him, he was doing it just because he wanted to see how things fell. He had been told to make friends with Harry as well as Elizabeth as the potential political power by making friends with Harry was undeniable. He knew his Father would love to gain that sort of control over the Winzengamot. This was why he was using a proxy such as Blaize, it couldn't be tied back to him and the two had a bit of a conflict and it worked to make that take a step up.

Draco smiled again, leaning back into the chair. Entertainment for everyone.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Night fell and Harry exited the Common Room, wrapped up in the invisibility cloak as he made his way to the Trophy Room. He would make it there with about five minutes to spare, enough time to make sure an escape route was sorted if it did turn into the trap that he thought it was. He kept to the walls, listening carefully as teachers moved along the corridors, their footsteps echoing in the otherwise deserted hallways. He climbed the stairs down to the second floor the Trophy Room at the end of the main corridor awaited.

There, right in front of the door was Filch, looking around almost eagerly before he disappeared into the darkness. the Torch he was carrying extinguished a thin trail of smoke the only sign that the man had been there moment before. "Too obvious." Harry muttered quietly to himself as he walked down the corridor, taking care with every step to try and make sure that he was unheard, acutely realising that the more he tried to be quiet the more aware he was to every little noise that he was making. Breathing felt so much noisier, each footstep to him felt like he was slamming his foot down even though he knew there was barely any noise being made by it.

He stopped by the door, glancing around and couldn't see Filch, wherever he was standing he was out of sight. Meaning Harry could get into the room and would no doubt be trapped there if Filch decided to come in after him. Still where there was a will there was a way. He pushed the door open, cringing as he heard it groan in protest. "You'd think they'd oil the hinges every now and again." Harry muttered quietly under his breath as he entered the room, walking down the centre aisle looking at the cabinets with the various trophies that were in there. Names that meant nothing to him shined out in the pale moonlight and Harry made a mental note to look into some of these in the future. Perhaps one had his parents or another descendant on them? Something to investigate in any case.

The door behind him clicked shut and Harry spun turning to see Filch standing there, locking the door shut. "He's in here my pretty." He said to his cat that was walking around his feet, she meowed in response and started to walk forwards and Harry ran towards the back of the room. "Show yourself! there is no other exit from the room."

Harry made it to the back of the room, well aware that the cat would have his scent, he cursed his over confidence, he knew it had been a trap but he had wanted to prove that he could go there and get back without hassle. That no little trick from Blaize would catch him.

And here he was walking straight into it and practically getting caught by it.

He looked around, there was no way out except through the window and with the window route he was in trouble because he didn't have a broom. "There's got to be another way out." Harry muttered, looking around as he tried to find a secret passage. There had to be one, there was always one in these kind of situations. He looked back down the room, the cat was taking its time, sniffing carefully, knowing its prey was trapped and Harry resisted the urge to jinx it and give away his position.

a shimmer to the side, he blinked, he had almost missed it.

It grew as he focused on it. where there had been a wall now stood a door.

The Power!

He had one chance to escape and this was it. The door led somewhere and hopefully it was just to the corridor so he could make a run for it. He thought back to what Elizabeth had told him, his thoughts locking onto the door, he closed his eyes as he reached out, picturing the tear and pulling on it, he opened his eyes. The door was there. "What was that!?" Filch said in surprise and Harry cursed, realising he'd been detected through this, though at the same time he could cope with why. A door appearing out of nowhere was definitely something to catch his attention even in Hogwarts. Harry flung the door open diving through.

And crashed straight into Elizabeth.

The two hit the floor, the cloak falling over her as Harry groaned in pain, rolling onto his back and looking at the door trying to will it away. It vanished, just before Filch could reach it and he let out a sigh of relief. He looked back at Elizabeth and laughed nervously. "Fancy running into you out here." He said sheepishly as she stared at him.

"I think you have some explaining to do."

TBC

Originally I left the reason behind Blaize acting out like he did, I was going to build up to it in the future but I didn't feel I needed to do that and put the reasoning in the chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, I'm taking a little bit busy over the Christmas period so I won't be updating for Christmas weekend or new years weekend. After that I'll be back to normal.


	13. Chapter 13: Trouble and Tests

**Chapter 13: Trouble and Tests**

 _Disclaimer: Song and dance same as every other chapter, I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock._

 _"Fancy meeting you here."_

He was in trouble.

Oh dear was he in so much trouble. Elizabeth was here, he had avoided Filch and now he had run straight into Elizabeth. "Get up." She ordered and Harry slowly did so before she grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him away. "What on Earth are you doing out here now!?" She questioned sharply as he struggled to keep hold of the invisibility cloak, it falling off his form and he quickly stashed it away.

"I was checking on something." Harry said evasively and She turned to look at him with another frown.

"Checking on what?" She practically growled out as she stepped into a classroom, pulling him with her and shutting the door behind her.

"I... don't really want to say." Harry admitted sheepishly and she started to glare.

"Speak now Harry." She stated forcefully and Harry looked around behind her, not wanting to look her in the eyes. He shuffled slightly trying to think of a way to get out of this but he didn't want to lie to Elizabeth.

"I was... walkingintoablatanttrap." Harry muttered quickly and quietly and Elizabeth looked in confusion as she tried to decipher what he said.

"You're going to have to repeat that." She said with a slight shake of her head, he wasn't going to get away with things that easily and she was already annoyed enough with what had happened earlier in the day with Narcissa.

"I was... walking into a blatant trap." Harry repeated, slower but still quiet but she did hear what he had to say.

"You were doing WHAT?" She almost shouted and Harry flinched, both at the tone and the fact that he really didn't want another professor might hear and he might not be able to get away with what he had done.

"Blaize, he purposely set me up with a challenge." Harry explained calmly, in for a penny in for a pound, "he insulted me, I shrugged it off. He insulted you, I shrugged it off." He paused again, he could have sworn he saw a slight tinge on her cheeks but in the darkness it was hard to tell. "He came after me again and I did nothing." Harry said angrily, the thoughts of everything that Blaize had said getting under his skin as he thought back. "And then he insulted my mum. So I hit him." The look of anger on Elizabeth's face faded away. "He challenged me to a duel, the trophy room at Midnight."

"And you went." Elizabeth said, she could feel the anger building up again, the fact that he would do something so stupid just... if she didn't have better self-control she would have probably slapped him.

"I knew it was a trap but I had to take the risk. I had my cloak to get there and back and if he had set up a trap I would have been gone before he even realised. I didn't expect it to be Filch that he turned to. Figured he'd believe he was too above talking to the Caretaker." Harry admitted with a shrug. "I also didn't expect him to lock the door. Creepy and disturbing is an understatement." He shuddered, mental images of the old stranger danger films that were played in Primary School came to mind.

"Harry... What possible reason could you have even thought that this was a good idea? You know someone is out to kill you! You know that there are people that would like nothing more to see you injured or worse." Elizabeth gripped his shoulders, shaking him slightly. "How can we look after you if you don't look after yourself?" She chided and he ducked his head, feeling embarrassed. "There are so many things going on and throwing yourself into needless danger is just putting yourself and others at risk." Harry stood there silently and she could see him practically shaking. Whether from anger or him being upset she couldn't tell but she realised how the things she had said could possibly affect him. "And yet I can't tell you off for it would make me a hypocrite." Elizabeth said with a sigh causing him to look up in shock and confusion. "You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, everyone expects so much from you for a name." She knelt down in front of him, looking at him with a look of seriousness on her face. "I know what that's like. You know that I know, so understand this when I say it, Don't act like this Harry. Don't take risks that don't need to be taken. It can only end badly."

"But I can't just let them get away with what they say."

"I'm not asking you to do that." Elizabeth replied with a smile that hid something behind it, Harry blinked seeing a shadow of something pass across her face. "I'm asking you to think. I'm asking you to take advantage of what you've got and if need be run rings around him. Don't play into his game, set the stage for your own plans." Elizabeth stopped and Harry found himself looking at her in shock. "What? you didn't think I'd say walk away did you? A problem can only be solved by dealing with it. But you and I have all the time in the world in this." She said the two smiling at the open secret between them. The smile dropped away and Harry turned serious, knowing what Elizabeth was about to say next. "Now... you've been caught outside your dorm; I really can't let you get away with that... there's enough talk about bias." She said knowing full well that others were more than willing to try and cause problems if they could get away with it. "So I'm going to have to give you detention."

"But I could easily sneak away under the cloak and then you could deny all knowledge that you saw me." Harry suggested and she shook her head.

"That would work if you hadn't removed the cloak as I was pulling you through the corridors." He cursed as she said this, realising that was true, "but the detention I'm going to give will be one that I think you'll like." She said with a smirk.

Harry suddenly felt a nervous chill that went straight down his spine.

Somehow he didn't think he was going to like it.

HPCVHPCV

The next morning a very tired Harry dragged himself to his classes, he had returned to the dorm at about two am after Elizabeth had both chewed him out and then told him what he'd be doing for the detention. Surprisingly he was looking forward to the punishment.

Having witnessed him opening the door to escape, she was now going to start teaching him how to properly use it. More to focus on the fact that if he wasn't careful the door he could open could lead to a completely different Hogwarts and he wouldn't realise it until he was too late and then he would have to find his way back home. She had mentioned briefly about there being a way to tell, you always knew where home was instinctively but there was always a chance to get lost.

"Enjoying your last meal Potter?" Blaize questioned, and Harry looked at him blankly for a moment, yawned and turned back to his breakfast without responding. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"No, you're talking at me. Slight Difference," Harry responded with a dismissive wave as he continued to focus on his food. "Not expelled, your plan failed, good game and all of that. Better luck next time." Harry said before looking at Terry. "So, Herbology, do you think Professor Sprout is going to have us continue with the Puffapod?" He asked completely ignoring Blaize. The Slytherin slowly steaming as he was ignored.

"Maybe but I heard someone dropped the seeds... the Greenhouse is kind of a mess apparently. I think she's actually going to move onto the cutting spell today."

"Huh, you'd think a spell so effective at cutting things like plants would be taught early on?" Harry questioned smirking slightly as he saw the increasingly angry face of Blaize.

"You weren't paying attention to the early parts of the year were you?" Terry responded teasingly, "she explained why we can't because there are a lot of plants that could be damaged by the magic, or affected in some way from it being used on them." He explained and Harry let out a small 'oh' of understanding and acknowledgement.

"Makes sense I suppose... magic mixing with magic."

"Don't you ignore me!" Blaize snapped and Harry turned his head to look over his shoulder.

"Hmm? Sorry Blaize, I didn't think you were actually still here." Harry admitted, lifting his legs and spinning around on the bench so that he was leaning back against the table and looking at the Slytherin. "I thought I'd give you the same level of respect that you apparently show me." Harry said with a slight tilt of the head as he studied Blaize. "You make a challenge and then you break your word, I have no interest in dealing with you anymore, your word is worthless to all those you stand with and all those you stand against." There was a collective gasp around the nearby area as the words that he had said sunk in. Harry had essentially called Blaize an oath breaker. A person's word had value in the wizarding world, to declare someone untrustworthy was an insult that many took seriously.

"How dare you Potter. You have no right to say that about me."

"True or False, you challenged me to a duel after I punched you for the comments you made about my mother." Harry said calmly and Blaize glared.

"True." He begrudgingly admitted, he knew that if he lied then no doubt Harry would push for the conversation to continue at the Portraits of which none held any kind of sympathy or loyalty to him or his family.

"True or False, you specified Midnight at the Trophy Room?"

"True." Blaize said a sudden smirk on his features.

"You didn't turn up and set Filch on me instead after all he even said himself 'as we were warned', true or false?" Harry questioned again in amusement. Blaize smirked in response and knew that he could twist this.

"False."

"And even now you can't tell the truth."

"Prove that I was the one who told him and not the Portraits that were in the corridor where we had this conversation." Blaize countered back and Harry blinked, surprised that he had come out with this bit of a challenge.

"Hmm, good point." Harry said thoughtfully as he ummed over it a second before smirking again. "Because of his choice of words, it wasn't 'they' it was 'he' so if the portraits were trying to get both of us in trouble it would have been 'they' as you can tell." Harry commented and Blaize resisted the urge to growl in pure frustration.

"Besides Potter, I never said which night the duel would take place on. I only specified a time."

"One would assume that a time without a date would mean the closest time available that is correct to the time set." Harry responded with an air of dismissiveness as he turned his back to Blaize knowing that it would anger him. "But if that is the way you want to play then fine, name a date and I shall attend. The only question is; will you do the same? Of course, we could just call this a complete misunderstanding, a heat of the moment thing where our mouths got the better of us and you can walk on your way with no problem." It was a bluff on Harry's part, he had no want or drive to duel Blaize, the guy was just not that important at the moment in the grand scheme of things. He had been doing a lot of thinking, not just since last night but ever since this whole situation with the Tears and the travelling had developed, he had ideas on what he wanted to do with it, he had plans that made him smile sometimes it freaked a few people out how a stray thought would cross his mind that he could do with the power and they'd see him smile almost at random.

"Whatever Potter, you're not worth the time anyway." Blaize said in a tone that tried to convey aloofness yet only managed to increase the defeated tone as he turned and stormed off. Harry smiled and waved at the retreating form.

"Pleasant conversation Blaize, talk to you later." He called and turned back his attention to back to his food, looking at the looks he was given he started laughing again. Yes, times were good for Harry even with the undercurrent that was happening in the school. Times were good.

HPCVHPCV

Elizabeth was in Bathsheda's office, pacing as she tried to think about everything that had happened. She had been too relaxed, too overconfident and now she was paying the price of it. "Elizabeth you need to calm down... you're going to pace a hole in my rug." Bathsheda joked in a small attempt to lighten the mood. Elizabeth looked at her and Bathsheda held her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm sorry, but you need to calm down before you wear yourself out. I know you're not just asking to speak to me because of lessons." She said calmly as Elizabeth stopped pacing.

"She knows."

"She knows?" Bathsheda responded and Elizabeth nodded her head. "She knows what?"

"Narcissa knows..." Elizabeth repeated, trailing off and Bathsheda closed her eyes and sighed as she realised what Elizabeth was talking about.

"You're sure she knows?" A nod in response. "Well that's kind of horrifying to even think about." Bathsheda said plainly, "how did she even find out?"

"I screwed up, I underestimated the situation and didn't think things through." She explained nervously. "She asked to look into my family, I forgot to take something into account with it."

"And that would be?"

"They don't exist here." Elizabeth said revealing the secret to the second third person. Slowly but surely this was becoming the worst kept secret ever. Seeing the look of confusion and disbelief Elizabeth started to explain, "remember what I said before about the constants and the variables between universes back when we first met?" She asked getting a nod in response, "Where I am from, is a different time and a different place with a different set of rules. My father was one of those constants, there was always a man, always a city and always a lighthouse, the variation may change but there were always those three constants. This time, this place, there is no man, no lighthouse and no city and as such my father never existed in this timeline." She explained the circumstances, giving her a brief rundown of the dimensions and even offered to show her the sea of doors but Bathsheda declined at this time.

"So she found out you are not who you claim... well you are but you aren't." Bathsheda said trying to wrap her head around it. Elizabeth had mentioned alternate realities and that she could see and open windows into them but to say what she was saying, it was on a whole different level. "What happened then?"

"There was a meeting, you know I went to Hogsmeade yesterday?" She questioned and Bathsheda nodded, she had seen the woman leave yesterday morning and had seen her return but hadn't had the chance to talk to her and with the look of frustration on her face she had left her to herself to collect her thoughts. "It was to meet her, so she could tell me what she found or what she didn't find to be more exact. So she questioned me... in the back of my mind I had some ideas on how to cover things up, how to keep it hidden away and convince her she was wrong."

"What happened?"

"She drugged me."

"What!?" Bathsheda cried out in surprise, it was something that she did not expect Narcissa to do, at least not in such a way that Elizabeth could have known about it. "And she told you this?"

"She did, truth for truth, this is where I'm torn about this, I don't think she did this so that she could use it for nefarious purposes, she spoke about concern for her son, she had to know I wasn't a threat to her son."

"But still... to be so open in her response, that's very unlike the Black Family." Bathsheda commented remembering stories she had been told about the Black Family. "She commits a crime and she tells you?"

"Probably because she knows as I don't exist I can't do anything about it." Elizabeth responded and cursed her luck again. "But I think I've set something off... something that's going to change her attitude to everything." Elizabeth continued explaining, "Under the effect of whatever that was I told her and also told her I could take her to see what was to come."

"You were able to give extra details on top of answering the question?" Bathsheda asked, her mind trying to think of the potion that was used. "She didn't spare any expense with the potion then. It wasn't Veriatserum she used because you'd have answered succinctly and not been able to hold a normal conversation, so they had to use something much more, it can't be mixed with other potions..." Bathsheda trailed off, trying to think of any potion that could possibly be involved with that.

"Bathsheda..." Elizabeth called seeing her friend trail off into her own thoughts. "Bathsheda... wakie, wakie." Elizabeth called again but there was still no response. She rolled her eyes, stepped forwards, leant over the desk and tapped her on the forehead.

"Huh? What? What did I miss?" She asked quickly, realising that she had zoned out.

"Nothing, I think I'm getting used to when you tune out everything around you." Elizabeth commented with a smile before the seriousness came back to her. "So I scared her, I scared her in a way that she couldn't predict."

"What did you do?"

"I took her to a possible future. A situation where Harry died and Voldemort won." There was a flinch from Bathsheda but Elizabeth ignored it. "I showed her how the wizarding world would be destroyed if Voldemort won, one of the variations anyway." Elizabeth added the last bit as she thought about it, the infinite possibility things were always ignored in aspects such as this.

"It was bad?" Bathsheda asked quietly, Elizabeth nodded in response not explaining anymore and that spoke more than words ever could. "I left before she could do anything else, not trusting myself to speak with the drug still in effect." Elizabeth finished as she sat down.

"How much of it do you think she'll listen to?"

"She was scared by what I showed her, she may try and dismiss it as an illusion, a spell that I cast but at the same time she can't because of whatever she used." Elizabeth smiled darkly, thinking back to the people who had manipulated her in the past and the person she had manipulated, the truth was a beautiful and terrifying thing. "Though I did say I'd still go to their house during the Easter Holiday."

"Really?" Bathsheda questioned after a moments pause, staring at the woman in shock. "That's kind of stupid isn't it?"

"Perhaps, but I feel I need to give her time to think about what I've shown her, hopefully the images she saw will shift her opinion."

"Hers maybe, but what about her husband?"

"Ah, I didn't think about that." She admitted hesitantly, Lucius had been a non-entity to her, she hadn't met the man, she hadn't interacted with the man and as such she didn't think about him in the slightest. "You think it could be a problem?"

"If she tells him about your abilities then I have no doubt." Bathsheda explained, "Lucius is one of the most underhanded people I've ever come to meet, as you know he managed to avoid going to prison for his part as a Death Eater, cleared of all charges but it's still there hanging in the shadows. The man is dark and if he knew about your power to its full extent then I have no doubt that he would try and bind you to his will."

"I'd like to see him try." Elizabeth practically growled, she wouldn't be bound, she wouldn't be restrained by anyone ever again.

"There are ways Elizabeth, ways that you don't know, a simple signature on an innocuous piece of paper could be the difference between freedom and servitude. A simple drop of blood in the wrong place and you could lose everything. A promise phrased badly could come back to cause you no end of trouble. Magic is beautiful and Magic is impartial but at the same time Magic can be one of the dangerous tools that ever existed." Bathsheda continued thoughtfully, "to go into the lion's den... wait wrong animal, the Serpents Lair regardless of how aware you are of the danger that you are in would be tantamount to suicide." Bathsheda pointed out. Elizabeth sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"If I don't turn up then there will be more problems, more likely she would lose whatever impact that I started and if she decides that she can change what she saw and still keep Voldemort in power then she may try to do it at her husband's urging." Elizabeth sighed again dropping into a chair heavily. "If I go I take a risk if I don't go I take a risk. What do you think?"

"With the ability to go anywhere and to any time? Find out where she went after your meeting, find out her feelings on the situation." Bathsheda said with a shrug. "Though jumping around like that could cause problems if you're spotted, you may even force her hand because of it in an attempt to call your bluff if she believes that you're following her to scare her more." Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "Your only plan may be to do what you said. I don't know, I'm a teacher not a strategic planner. Can't you just look into what would happen?"

"In a way I could, but the problem there would be what happened before that point I did that action, did anything else change? did the conversation happen differently? an infinite number of possibilities, an infinite number of outcomes." Elizabeth leant forwards, her elbows resting on the desk as she rubbed at her eyes, stifling a yawn of tiredness. "And then Harry being so damn stupid last night." She cursed, stunning Bathsheda again.

"What did he do to get you to actually curse?" Bathsheda asked, through the last several months that she had known Elizabeth she had barely heard her lose her temper outside of the incident with Professor Snape, now Harry had apparently done something stupid and it had caused her to snap like this.

"He got goaded into a trap, knowing full well that it was a trap and still went to it. The idiot almost got himself caught by Filch, if he hadn't tapped into the power then he'd have been caught and either expelled or in detention for so long he'd wish he had been expelled." Elizabeth said with a small chuckle, still amused at how she found herself talking about School Punishments even when she took into account that before this she had been fighting, fighting against Comstock, fighting against the Vox, fighting against Andrew Ryan and Atlas... now she was here in a school, acting like a teacher. It was a surreal shift in priorities for her.

"Are we sure he's in the right house? He's certainly sounding more like a Gryffindor." Bathsheda joked and Elizabeth rolled her eyes, it was a habit that she was seeing with students and professors alike, when they found someone showing a trait to a larger extent that didn't fall into a certain house the inevitable comment was that they were sorted into a wrong house rather than pay attention to the fact that a person was not just one defining trait. "But he tapped into the power?" a nod, "and are we always going to call it 'the power' because I've got to say it sounds so weird to refer to 'the power' like that. We refer to Magic as an independent entity as well, Magic just sounds slightly less bland than 'the power' when used though."

"I'll think of something, normally I'm only talking about aspects of it and don't refer to it as a whole." Elizabeth dismissed the suggestion as she thought about what she was going to do. _'Still too many things that I don't know about here... I didn't expect Narcissa to make the move she did, I still need to talk to Hermione and Ron, I'm surprised they have held off this long asking me about the events at Halloween, but then again there was the Quidditch incident a week later and I was pretty much ignoring everyone for the month from that problem.'_ She felt bad about that, it hadn't been her intention to not pay attention to anyone else but she had felt the need to try and keep an eye on him both out of concern for him and also in case there had been any effect from the use of the rift to save him, though now she had learnt that at least according to the Lutece's he had the power from the moment they awoke her just like she had gained magic when she had drawn on him through that connection.

"Did we ever learn who owned the house?" She asked and Bathsheda shook her head.

"I don't know who set it up but everything leads to fake names and dummy contacts, the only thing we have learnt about him is that he was a he. Other than that the neighbours don't really remember much about him other than he was possibly quite a well off business man that kept to himself. Just one day he didn't appear again and then over time people forgot about him. He's gone as far as people know though we've set up a few observation spells in case he ever returns." She stopped, glancing off to one side thoughtfully before looking back at Elizabeth. "I did clean up something that I almost missed when I went back to copy the runes." She smirked and Elizabeth looked confused, "the books you pulled in, we forgot to take them with us on that day, they were still sitting there waiting for me when I got went back."

"Oh, those... I remember those, I still have the Hogwarts: A History book in my trunk." She said thoughtfully. "Did we really leave the rest of them there?" She asked and Bathsheda nodded. "I suppose it's a good thing he never returned." She mused thoughtfully. If he had returned and seen the spell books regardless of the state of disarray and dust that was in the house, he would have known instantly that something was wrong.

"Not to mention the different bookcase, I first tried to revert it to what it had been but the magic just didn't work. I'm guessing it's because of what you did?"

"It was, I didn't change what was there but more swap what was there with something that could have been there," Elizabeth explained.

"So I had to transfigure it into the old one. I think I put enough magic in to it to make it stay like that but who know, either way the books I dumped back at my house and then the rest is what it is until we need to go back there."

"Why would we need to go back there if he's never going to return?" Elizabeth asked with a frown, supressing a shudder, she dreamt about that room, nightmares that she was never found, that she was trapped there until whoever this was returned. She thought back to when she first spoke to Bathsheda and McGonagall, she had claimed that she had been chasing someone, but that had been a lie, she wasn't chasing she was running away. Away from everything that happened to her to escape her own mistakes.

It was cowardly of her to run from her past but she needed to escape, needed to think, needed to sort things out and now she was tied to things that were happening here. Who knew what she was? was it because of her ability that she had been trapped like that or did they think she was magical? Something had drawn her there but she couldn't remember what it was. Something or someone. She sighed banishing the thoughts, time would bring the information back, time or travelling through the doors to go find out for herself. But she would wait to do that, she would take the chance of finding the information over time for now. "You're looking troubled." Bathsheda spoke softly, snapping Elizabeth out of her thoughts.

"Lost in thoughts, thinking of the house, that room." She said quietly, the Professor nodded her head and Elizabeth gave a weak smile. "I'll deal with it." She dismissed and Bathsheda frowned.

"You should talk about it... it won't help to keep it bottled up."

"I will, just not now." She said as the bell rung. She stopped in shock, cursed and looked at Bathsheda. "I've got to get down to the dungeons now... I'm going to be late." She said quickly standing up, "talk to you later?" She asked and Bathsheda, still thinking about what Elizabeth was going through she nodded distractedly as the woman exited the room making her way down to potions as quickly as possible.

She arrived at the Potions lab, out of breath and slightly drained from running, stopped at the door to collect herself, straightening her robe and taking a deep breath she pushed open the door, entering the room.

Everyone turned to look at her, she didn't spare a glance at the students and looked at Professor Snape. "Apologies for being late, I lost track of time while discussing something with Professor Babbling." She said politely to Snape.

"Well, I'm glad you can make time for us in your busy schedule." He responded and Elizabeth gritted her teeth, not wanting to rise to the bait. "You already know what the class is so I suggest you start doing your task." He finished, returning to what he was doing and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

The rest of the lesson continued as if she hadn't been late, the students paid attention and got on with the work, there were comments from Snape directed at the students but he largely ignored Harry as he worked. Idly, Elizabeth let her mind wander back to the argument that she had with Snape and how he had acted from that day on. He was still cold, abrupt and rude to nearly everyone that wasn't a Slytherin student, including Harry and in fact, Elizabeth didn't think he would have changed at such a simple thing. But something else had happened and since the end of the holidays he had been indifferent to Harry, not polite and warm but less harsh and more inclined to just ignore the teen rather than go out of his way to goad him. She smiled slightly, the change was nice, it would do him good in the long run and would stop future aggression from building up.

As the day progressed, her thoughts drifted through to the 'detention' she had to do with Harry later. She had a plan to try and see what he could do, it would require her to possibly take him to the sea of lighthouses. She paused that thought as she tried to think. This was a different place, a different time a different set of rules. Would it be lighthouses here? She tried to think back to when she had come here, it had been a blank to her, maybe something that she had unconsciously done to get away from everything to do with Rapture. When she had taken Harry to Rapture she hadn't gone through the pathways, she just opened the door straight to Rapture, skipping the middle step so to speak, so what would be the result of this excursion? The doors were locked in the sea and they could only be opened by people like her and the Lutece Twins. She was going to see where he wanted to go with the power. She would act as an advisor and he would lead the way but she would make sure that he came back to where he was supposed to be.

That's if he could. First she'd have to test him on other aspects, the ability to manipulate rifts to what could have been was there, but what about the ability to open doorways in their entirety? to step through into another location with an idea of what possibility you wanted. It would be interesting to see if he could do it and where he would take them. Second would be to find out where he would want to go. She had a few ideas and inclinations about the choices he would want to see but at the same time she realised that some of those doors were better left shut for now. Finally, she'd have to keep an eye on how drained he was, she knew the rifts could be tiring to open when not used to them, she knew that the doorways could be even more draining but he was also stubborn and generally not willing to show when he was suffering.

With her thoughts distracted she was on autopilot for the rest of the day, she answered when spoken to by others but her heart wasn't in it. That evening she was in Bathsheda's office again, waiting for Harry to turn up. As someone who was now in the know she was here to watch what happened to make sure they didn't actually kill themselves, though she would be unable to follow them if they did progress through the rifts her mind would be struck by the changes in an attempt to comprehend what was going on. It would be the same thing that happened to Booker when he was brought through by the Lutece Twins. The brain would try to bring understanding to what was there. Even knowing about what was going to happen before hand was no guarantee that she would be able to travel safely. The clock ticked onwards and she glanced at Bathsheda who was sat behind her desk again, writing away at a student's homework. "Much to go through?" Elizabeth asked, she hadn't really paid much attention to the coursework that the elective classes took simply because she wasn't involved with any of it but the smile that Bathsheda had gave the answer away pretty quickly.

"Not really, the joys of an elective class, its smaller in size and the people there generally want to do the work and put the effort in. Less work with better detail." She responded as she scribbled a note on the side of the parchment. "Not to say there aren't people who pick the class for the wrong reason but it shows in their work as they do, many of them either drop the subject to take another free period or before the end of their third year they ask to change to a different class."

"Is that easy to do? You'd be almost a year behind everyone else if you did."

"The changing of classes doesn't happen often but the ones that do generally switch to what would be considered an easy class that they can coast through for the rest of the year. Divination as you either have the talent or you don't have the talent to be able to see. If what you said was true about your abilities, you could probably ace the class with barely any effort. What was it you said? an infinite number of possibilities?" Elizabeth nodded her head, "that would mean an infinite number of predictions for you to draw on to complete the work. And they'd all be true... from a certain point of view."

"I don't think I'd have the patience to deal with the woman though." Elizabeth said honestly, "from what I've heard from some of the others she's a fraud who likes to... I really don't want to say it; you probably already know." Elizabeth finished with a look of frustration, she had heard the rumours that Trelawney was a drunk who many considered that her visions were just delusions caused by the amount she drinks. There were other rumours that floated around about drug use to help 'open the inner eye' but again she tried to distance herself from it, until she dealt with the woman in person she wouldn't pass judgement, but she hadn't even seen the woman at this point in time. When she had asked McGonagall about it, she had been told that she barely leaves her tower, the classroom that she taught in was essentially her living room.

"I know those rumours. She's not as bad as people make her out to be, but she can be a bit... out there for lack of a better phrase." As seven hit the clock in the office dinged and there was a knock on the door, "enter." She called out and the door opened, Harry walking in. "Good Evening Mr Potter." She greeted with a cool look at him. Harry stopped in surprise at the tone. "Did you really go to a midnight duel that you knew was a trap?" She stated upfront and bluntly. Harry looked at her in embarrassment. "Yep, you did." She said and laughed. "I don't know whether to shout at you or just set Elizabeth on you again." She said and Harry cringed, apparently her words the evening before had sunk into his head. "Now I'm only here to make sure you don't blow yourself up with what you're going to do. Elizabeth is running the show." She said gesturing to Elizabeth who stood off to one side.

"Ready to begin Harry? this won't be easy for you to do." Elizabeth said, walking over to him. "We're going to just push on as far and as fast as we can."

"I understand." Harry responded simply and Elizabeth turned away from him, gesturing at the room.

"How many tears can you see in this room?" She questioned. Harry looked around, studying things intently, looking for the tell-tale shimmer. As he focused on them Bathsheda watched, looking at the spots where he was looking. in the spots she thought she could see something there.

"Six." Harry spoke, "the bookcase, the window, the door, the fireplace, the desk and the light." Harry said and Bathsheda chimed in.

"I can see three... how can I see three?" She questioned and Elizabeth looked a bit surprised at the revelation.

"I thought that was only a side effect of the Lutece Twins machine..." She muttered thoughtfully before speaking up and explaining her thoughts. "Where I came from, the Lutece Twins created a machine that opened the rifts, I thought that the reason people that weren't like myself or Harry could see the rifts was related to the machine being used making the area unstable and more prone to create tears... I guess it's not just that but our ability to use it that causes it."

"If I can start to see them, should we be concerned about them opening up around the School?"

"While they may start to appear around the school, the most anyone would be able to do without a lot of effort would be to look through it, to see something or hear something depending on what it is that opens. There was a man named Fink who used a few of these tears to create things that wouldn't exist for several years. I guess with the two of us using the tears and opening the doors we're doing what the machine did." Elizabeth hazarded a guess, to be honest she hadn't really thought about what it would take for them to start being seen by people who didn't have access to the ability, she hadn't really thought that many people could see them in Columbia, if it wasn't for a few of the kinetoscopes she wouldn't have known. There hadn't been many people that weren't trying to kill or capture them to stop and ask a dozen questions about everything. A lot of what she had worked out upon leaving was guess work, educated guesswork but guesswork nonetheless. All seeing did not mean all knowing.

"Then we'll start with the first part, Bathsheda, any rifts that you do not want us to open?"

"The bookcase, There's several rare books on there that I really don't want to take the chance of losing. The desk as well unless you tell me the window is to a bunch of already marked essays." She added jokingly and the two shared a slight laugh.

"Okay, Harry start with the window, what do you see?"

"It's similar to what happened when this power first started forming, a slight change to the curtains, a design change on the window as well."

"Okay then, open it up." She commanded and Harry did so, the blue curtains that had been there were now a dark red colour, the window had gone from a simple cross design with four panes of glass to one with a diamond design across it. "How did it feel opening it?"

"Easy enough." Harry stated as he looked at the other tears.

"Good, its developing quickly... let's leave the door, people will ask questions, try the fireplace." Elizabeth ordered and Harry turned, looking at the fireplace he pulled open the tear, the fireplace remained largely unchanged and for a moment he thought he had failed but then he noticed what the actual difference was.

Instead of the Hogwarts crest that rested above the fireplace it was a different crest. Something he did not recognise and from the looks of it neither did Bathsheda. She stood up, walking around to the fireplace, looking at the crest, tracing it with her finger. "That's... I've never seen that crest before... Why would it be here?"

"A different ownership for Hogwarts that brought about change? a time when Hogwarts decided on a different emblem? There are many possibilities." Elizabeth said as she watched the Professor studying it, the witch summoning some paper and a piece of charcoal, making a rubbing of the emblem.

"Still, there's something about this emblem... it's got to have some meaning, I'll look into it." She said stepping away from the fireplace with the imprint in her hands.

"It may not have any meaning here; it may never have come to be in this time. Don't be surprised if you don't come across anything." Elizabeth forewarned before turning back to Harry. "Okay, enough rearranging the room, we're going to move onto a bit of a different task. I want you to open up a doorway to somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Harry asked and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Take what you know about rifts, and apply it to a mental picture, picture where you want to go, focus on that thought and let everything else guide you to do it."

"Will we be able to come back if I do this?" He asked hesitantly and she nodded her head.

"I'll get us back, you don't have to worry about that, though if I'm right, I think you'll be able to find your own way back even if I wasn't out there. At least I was always able to back then." She trailed off in thought realising that her own theory had a hole in it. She had initially thought that she had been drawn back to where she was from because it was where she originally came from, a sort of resonance with the place that she came from, but there was a hole with that theory just on the grounds that it wasn't where she was originally from. She corrected the theory though, realising it was less that it took her back to where she thought she was from due to some unseeable connection but more due to the fact that it was what her mind considered home, it was all she had ever known as being home.

"Right, I can do this." Harry muttered as he closed his eyes, a look of deep concentration crossing his features as he turned his attention to the side, away from Bathsheda and Elizabeth. Ahead of him, appearing in the room, a bit away from the Fireplace that he had changed, a circle area started to open, behind it, a corridor could be seen, it was stone, similar to Hogwarts, in fact several of the suits of armours were also there and some of the paintings. Harry opened his eyes, let out a small tired sigh of breath and Elizabeth walked over, patting him on the shoulder before they stepped through the passageway it closing behind them leaving Bathsheda alone in the room.

"Huh, goodbye to you too..." She trailed off, she had seen through the hole that he had opened and had recognised the corridor in question. "He didn't..." She muttered in realisation and then started laughing. "Oh that clever little brat." She muttered under her breath, shaking her head as she chuckled slightly.

In the corridor in question Elizabeth and Harry looked around, "I didn't expect you just to bring us to Hogwarts from Hogwarts." She said and Harry shrugged.

"I wanted to find out what was at the end of the corridor that everyone wants to keep a secret." Harry said with a shrug as he walked towards the door that led to the Forbidden Corridor. "So I focused on something, a reality where the item was there but the traps weren't." Harry continued as he pushed open the door to an empty room that would at one time hold a Cerberus, but now it was just an empty room.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? I'd like to know as well but this isn't what I intended for you to do with your powers." Elizabeth pointed out as she followed him into the room.

"I don't plan to take it, I just want to see what it is, after that I'm more than happy to leave and go somewhere else."

"In that case... shall we get this over with?"

And they entered the corridor to find out what would await them.

TBC

Happy New Year everyone and lets hope it's a good one in the long run.

Unfortunately my plans failed heading into new years. I planned to try and push on ahead with the writing but to be perfectly honest I think I burnt out a little bit. The joy of working retail. At the moment I'm half way through chapter 15 and I'm sitting on one sentence just waiting for that little spark of inspiration to kick in and drive me forward.

It's sitting there, I can feel it at the back of my mind but I just cant grasp that thread of thought to push on. Which is sad really considering it was the part of first year I was really looking forward to writing… Well one of them, the other part being the Forbidden Forest Detention… I have plans with that one :D


	14. Chapter 14: More Questions than Answers

**Chapter 14: More Questions than Answers  
**

Disclaimer: _You know the routine, i dont own anything that you recognise :)_

"The item isn't even on the third floor." Harry muttered in frustration as they dropped through a trap floor to the lower level. Why did they need Fluffy to protect a corridor if the person trying to steal the item could just blast through the wall on the floor below? But at the same time, he knew just how much magical protections were involved in the castle itself. To be able to blow walls up in the building would require a lot of magical energy, not to mention that it would most likely alert everyone in the building. They looked around the room that they were in, a tall room with the only light source a dim torch by the door and the light that came through the trapdoor above.

"So, whatever would be in this room would most likely be something that likes the dark." Elizabeth guessed and Harry found himself nodding. She knew that the rooms in question would give clues as to what the actual defences would be, part of her wondering just what they were going to find if they did try to investigate what was there when it was all set up. "Shall we continue? Just because you tried for a location where the traps weren't in place doesn't mean there isn't some way for them to know that we're here." Elizabeth warned as the thought slipped into her head. Thoughts to open a rift were important, the phrasing of the thought was also significant, just because he asked to be in a location where the object was here but without the protections that were in his time doesn't mean there isn't other protections that are in place. The two pushed open the door walking through into the next room, blinking as the light assaulted them, the contrast between this room and the last in terms of lighting was incredible. "A tall room." Elizabeth said as she looked up, seeing the ceiling in the distance. "There's got to be some kind of magic extending the room or something." She hazarded a guess as she continued to look up. "We'd have noticed a room that rose up at least three floors just by the lack of rooms on higher floors but there's nothing there on the upper levels."

"So, what? something that we have to get down from a height? Wouldn't an older student or a thief just be able to summon it to them?"

"Depends I guess there must be some way to protect items from summoning like that." Elizabeth guessed as they moved to the door, stopping as she noticed the lock. "See the lock on the door?"

"It's old?" Harry questioned, gaining a slight nod.

"It means there's an easy way to spot what would unlock the door, the lock is old so the key would most likely be an old styled key."

"Why would you even have the right key here in the first place? Why not just have a room full of fake keys?" Harry asked in confusion. If he had set up the room then that's what he'd do, a standard lock a standard set of keys that all looked almost identical and then have none of them work, you'd have the thief distracted and trying to work out what he had to do to get through and all the time he'd never actually have the right key to get through the room needing him to either remove the door or give up. The questions were adding up as they progressed, guess work leading to possible conclusions based off the evidence that the room would give them.

"It's strange, isn't it, the answers are all seemingly pointing to not keeping someone out more as a test for someone." Elizabeth stated as they moved into the next room, from first looks they could already see a difference, a walkway leading to a large square area with two trenches on either side of the area and another small pathway to a door that no doubt led on to where they needed to go. They walked up to the square area looking at the black and white tiled area. "Is this meant to be for a chess set of some kind?" She asked, glancing at the two trenched areas. "I guess that's where pieces would go if we had to remove them after they were taken but something like this could be easily passed by just blasting the pieces, no need to play a game if no pieces are able to be used."

"Unless the way to open the door would be linked to the game itself, having you win the game to progress would not only be time consuming but if it's like wizards' chess then surely they'd be a lot more dangerous than ordinary chess pieces." Harry had played a few games of Wizarding Chess with a few of the Ravenclaws in the dorm and each time he had lost but some of them had been closer than others. He was still trying to learn to not only tune out the words from the pieces that were enchanted to both talk and play in the violent variation of chess but to also practice thinking several steps ahead of those he was facing. It wasn't as easy as he thought it was.

"More and more like a test." Elizabeth muttered as they walked over the smooth tiled floor her heels clicking with every step. "It's not that I don't believe them when they say that it is designed to stop an intruder but so far we've seen nothing special that would stop anyone from being able to get their way through. With enough determination, I'm pretty sure with just first year magic you could get through." She said as they opened the door. The next room was darker, there were some enchantments in the room that seemed to generate warmth and they looked around in confusion. "It's like its designed for something to stay here." She said as she saw what looked like a hasty thrown together bed for something big, bigger than Hagrid and she frowned, her memories drifting back to Halloween. "Trolls are not native to England or Scotland, are they?" She asked Harry who was pretty sure they weren't but didn't know for sure. "Is this meant to be for a Troll to stay here? Did the one on Halloween come from here or was it one they were bringing in for the trials or was it another one? One by chance made its way here?"

"If it is a troll that was meant to be in here." Harry pointed out and Elizabeth nodded her head in agreement.

"It makes sense though." She said as they quickly made their way through the room out into the next one. The room itself was empty except for a table that sat against the wall next to the door that would lead on. "Not much to go on here then." She mused with a smile. "Let's think quickly, each room would have been done by a different Professor, with no one telling the other, at least that's how I'd do it." She commented with a glance, seeing Harry nod in agreement she continued. "If they don't tell anyone else other than Dumbledore what the traps are then that would stop someone being able to work it out and how to avoid each of them by using the person's own knowledge against them."

"But if they know who was working on the traps then they'd know who the person responsible for each one and could predict what was going to come as they moved."

"True, but the first room we already know is something Hagrid brought in. He's essentially told you about it already, the next room I don't know... there's too many options now."

"The room after has to be Professor Flitwick, a room like that there'd probably be some charms to keep the keys up on the upper area and moving around to confuse whoever came." Harry explained with what evidence they had so far.

"The next is another easy one, Professor McGonagall would be the only one to do that level of detail for a chess set, probably with a final tie in from Professor Dumbledore to link the game to the door." Elizabeth said as she thought about it, smiling at the idea of playing a giant chess game like that. It could be fun, once the year was over she'd have to suggest using it to show a practical application of Transfiguration to the upper years. Who knows, she may have already done that, Elizabeth didn't look too much into the coursework set for the upper years but sometimes, people, even teachers overlooked something that would be a great tool without even realising that they were doing it. "With that last room, I'd say that was Professor Quirrel."

"Really? He fainted the last time a troll was involved." Harry snorted in disbelief and Elizabeth frowned, having not heard that before.

"He fainted?"

"Ran into the Great Hall, mid meal and shouted about a troll in the dungeons, then collapsed to the ground." Harry explained shaking his head as he recalled the memory, to think their Defence against the Dark Arts professor was that cowardly that he'd be unable to do his job when dealing with what was essentially Defence. But it could be that he was more a theory person rather than the practical application that others would do. They did learn a bit of magic but it was largely theory in his class, the reason given that a lot of the spells were draining and the groundwork needed to be set for the second year.

"That doesn't sound that good." She said with a sigh, if that was the case then perhaps her theory about the last room was mistaken. "Unless he wasn't alone when it was brought in." She hazarded a guess, it was a long shot if he was as cowardly as Harry seemed to imply but at the same time he could have just made the suggestion to Dumbledore. "So how many are left?"

"Vector, Sprout, Snape, Bathsheda, Sinistra." Harry rattled off a few names that he remembered.

"I don't think Vector and Sinistra are involved in this, nothing about their specialisations match what we have already seen. A table is the only clue we have for here. It's not Bathsheda, she's already hinted as much that she knows what's here but she has not been involved with its security." Elizabeth said, remembering an earlier conversation she had with the Professor. "Which leaves Snape and Sprout, there are plants that thrive in the dark with little to no light... that first room we dropped into could possibly be hers maybe? Which would leave this to be Snape's." The theory did have merit but it was just a theory, all of this about the defences was largely guess work that they were making but it was one that could be drawn from the evidence they were seeing and the people who were involved. "With a table like this it's probably a potion related thing, it'd be interesting to see how it works, I'll admit, the man does have a brilliant mind." She said and Harry again found himself nodding his head in agreement with her. He was not so much invested in the hatred of the man anymore as he had essentially been neutral to him with only a few cases of acting like an ass since the Winter Holiday but he was intelligent and knew what he was doing. The two walked forwards, opening the next door and walking in to another large room that had a sunken circular area, steps the ran around the entirety of the area led down and in the middle, they both saw sitting on a small stand was an item wrapped in brown paper, tied with a single bit of white string. "And there it is... Do you think this room is what Dumbledore was going to set his trap in?" She asked as they walked down the steps towards the room

"This is indeed the room where I was going to set my part of the puzzle." The voice of Dumbledore spoke, the two jumping to spin around and face the man that stood at the entrance to the room. He looked at them, puzzled by their appearance. "I did not expect there to be someone here to steal the stone before any of the defences were in place.

"The stone?" Harry asked in confusion and Dumbledore looked at him, seeing the green eyes and lightning bolt scar, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"That is an interesting appearance you have," he said as he walked into the room, his wand still pointing at the two. "If I did not know any better I'd swear you were related to Emily Potter." He spoke as he studied the two.

"Emily Potter?" The two responded in confusion and surprise.

"The Girl Who Lived. I'm sure you know of her, especially with that scar he has on his forehead."

"Girl Who Lived?" Harry repeated dumbly, turning to look at Elizabeth who glanced at him as her brain realised what Harry had done.

"Harry, you took us into a different time, a different set of situations, remember what I said about you."

"You said I was the constant."

"Correct, you as an entity are a constant but there could always be changes."

"Such as me being a girl?" Harry questioned and Elizabeth nodded her head. "Wait a minute... He said Stone!" Harry said his mind snapping back to the topic that they had come here to solve.

"What about it?" Elizabeth asked as she glanced back at the elderly wizard who seemed to be willing to let this conversation go on for the moment.

"Nicholas Flamel, Check the Cards, Stone... I remember!" Harry cried out as he put the pieces together. "I remember seeing it on Professor Dumbledore's card, he worked with an Alchemist called Nicholas Flamel and discovered several uses for Dragons Blood."

"Ok that doesn't tell me who... alchemist, of course the Philosophers Stone." Elizabeth said in realisation before trailing off and looking at the aged headmaster. "Wait, that stones actually real? I thought it was a myth."

"You are not here to steal the stone, are you?" Dumbledore asked, hearing the conversation he had pieced together that they were not here to steal but more to work out the puzzle. "Time travel?"

"From a certain point of view... we're travellers, there's someone trying to steal the stone where we're from, we didn't even know what was here until just this moment, this was all just an attempt to find out what was going on so we could work out if we needed to step back and let it play out or if we needed to step in." Elizabeth explained to Dumbledore, not bothering to hide the fact that they were from a completely different dimension, the likelihood of them even returning here was slim to none and who knows it may force this Dumbledore to beef up defences if he thought they could be so easily bypassed.

"I believe I may know who is trying to steal the stone." Dumbledore spoke after a momentary pause, lowering his wand and walking towards the stand. "If what you say is true and you are from a parallel location, then I assume you had the same problem with Voldemort?" He stopped, the two nodded. "I do not believe he died on that fateful night that took the Potters from us." Another pause and another nod, though Harry had a look of sadness cross his features he dismissed it quickly. "I know that the return of a Potter to Hogwarts, the Potter so to speak would no doubt draw him out and I wanted something else to guarantee that he would appear. If my theory is correct then he is nothing more than a Wraith, clinging to life through various dark rituals, this stone would be the best way to get his body back and return to the life that he once had before he was beaten."

"And you put it in a SCHOOL!" Elizabeth cried out in disbelief. Dumbledore looked at her but didn't say anything.

"There is no place safer than Hogwarts, it is the only logical place to bring it. Gringotts itself was broken into barely a week ago, shortly after I had the vault emptied. The safety of the students has been my primary concern all along."

"It's a school." Elizabeth repeated, "a boarding school with not a lot to do outside of a weekend trip every now and again for the older students, you ban them from coming to this corridor and I can guarantee that they will be trying to get in here from the word go. Trust me, they really do. Some aren't so subtle about it either." Word of the Cerberus had spread around slowly, the gossip picking up more and more as to what it was guarding simply because they knew that something that dangerous would definitely be guarding something important and curiosity led to more curiosity and chances taken to try and see. Thankfully no one knew what was going on. "Harry we're leaving, we have the answers we need. Take care Headmaster, it's a dangerous game you're playing." She finished with a warning, a tear opening behind them back to Bathsheda's office. wrapping around the two and closing before Dumbledore could say anything else.

In the office, Bathsheda was sitting behind her desk, she had heard the sound of the tear opening and looked up to see Elizabeth and Harry appear in the room and in front of them Dumbledore watching in amazement. "So, you know what's there now?" She asked in resignation as the Tear closed on them.

"We do now, what is Dumbledore thinking?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down in one of the chairs, Harry sitting in another one as he still focused on the information that he had learnt about himself in the other Hogwarts. He was a girl in that timeline. He understood the concept but the actual fact that it was real was really weird and difficult to wrap his head around. "He's using it as bait to test a theory." She muttered in disbelief. "In a school with innocent children." Again, the disbelief was evident in her voice and Bathsheda called out for a House Elf to bring them drinks which moments after a serving tray with several cups and a pot of tea appeared on the table.

"We argued with him about it, Minerva tried several times to get him to reconsider but Dumbledore just ran with his usual grandfatherly attitude and left others with the task of guarding it. Did you see any of the traps that were set?" She asked in curiosity and Elizabeth shook her head.

"No traps or spells other than something that must have alerted Dumbledore to our presence. We've guessed at who was going to be involved in each room but if someone does try to steal it I can't see many a problem with getting past them, the traps that we guessed seem really easy to bypass. Were they designed to stop an Adult or a Child?" Elizabeth asked in suspicion.

"Or were they designed to trap anyone that goes to it. To wear a person down so that the final room could stop them." Bathsheda guessed and Elizabeth frowned.

"Well that's wrong on multiple levels, why not just try and make all of them stop everyone? after all what good is a defence if several layers are already weak? Though either way, it doesn't matter... the traps are less designed to trap someone and to test a theory he has as to whether or not Voldemort." A flinch from Bathsheda stopped her for a second, "is alive or dead."

"Really?" Bathsheda said in numb shock. The theory had been said before by a couple of people, though they were largely dismissed as rumours and crazy talk, mainly crazy talk but Dumbledore had always held the belief that Voldemort was still alive. "He wants to lure He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named here? Wow, that's... I knew he wanted to protect the item but to do that? Geez... I should have asked for a raise when he first announced the idea." Bathsheda groaned shaking her head. "I'm surprised that the Dumbledore you met actually said that, he always seems to play everything close to his chest."

"Alternate Dumbledore... perhaps he's a bit more open about his ideas in that time. Perhaps something happened that shifted his views on keeping secrets from allies?" Elizabeth suggested and with no other conclusion on which to go with Bathsheda found herself nodding her head in agreement, it made sense that there could be different Dumbledore's with slightly different personalities.

"And now I've had a scary thought." She muttered, trailing off as she shivered, looking at Elizabeth she saw the look of confusion on her face. "An alternate Reality with an Evil Dumbledore."

"Yes... I can see how that would be quite scary." Elizabeth agreed nervously, so glad that from everything she had seen so far, they were not in one of those realities. Evil Dumbledore, a very scary thought if he was as powerful as everyone seemed to believe he was. "How long were we gone for?" Elizabeth asked, glancing at the clock. "Hmm, two hours, less than I thought it was going to be when I pulled us back."

"I thought you'd be able to choose when and where you turned up."

"I opened that portal in a rush, not wanting to risk anything happening if Dumbledore decided to react. Harry, I think you can return to your Common Room, detention is over for now. We can continue the training at a later time but already you're showing incredible steps. Just remember the rules."

"I know, don't tell anyone who doesn't already know what is going on and don't open rifts around other people... even if I wouldn't mind pushing Blaize through one of them." He added with a slight chuckle and saw the looks of the two. "I joke, I joke! Don't worry I won't do anything to reveal this if I can help it." Harry promised seriously and Elizabeth nodded though there was still a slight frown. "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight." They both replied as he left and Elizabeth waited for several moments for him to properly go before turning back to look at Bathsheda. "All right, spill... what is Dumbledore planning?"

"What? How am I supposed to know that?" Bathsheda asked in hurt anger.

"He's had almost ten years to work out whether or not Voldemort is alive and here he is doing this stunt the moment Harry comes to Hogwarts?" Elizabeth questioned. "If our guesses were right then those traps and tricks couldn't hold a talented first year student. Is he doing this to test Harry?" She pushed slightly more aggressively.

Bathsheda sat silently, her mind running a mile a minute as she took the evidence that had been presented so far and the guess work that Elizabeth and Harry had come up with, there were trials made by the Professors to stop a thief, they were each to their speciality which could be predicted if the thief coming to steal the stone knew anything about the possible opponents. "I don't want to admit it because I don't want to believe it's true... it could possibly be designed to test Harry." She admitted after a few more moments of silence, she sighed looking at Elizabeth sadly. "How are we going to deal with this?"

"For now? Nothing... we'll keep an eye on things and see how it progresses, we're pretty sure what the traps are so we can try and be prepared for them when the thief no doubt makes his move."

"We're going to let Harry go through with it?" Bathsheda questioned and Elizabeth shook her head.

"I have no intention of letting him go through with it but we both know that if he wants to do something he's going to do it. Look at the Midnight Duel trap that he walked into, he knew it was a trap and he still went. If he believes it's the right thing to do or that he can properly handle the situation, then he is going to do his best to get involved. With the fact that his ability to see the tears and open doors is already getting to an advanced level and he's more than likely going to get involved with it regardless of what any of us say. He'll wait and he'll watch but I don't think he'll turn to any of us for help if he learns that someone has gone to steal it if we're not near." Elizabeth stated and chuckled, "He reminds me of my father in a way. Headstrong and determined." She stopped, closing her eyes thinking back to the end.

"You don't speak about your parents." Bathsheda observed and Elizabeth smiled.

"That obvious? It's because I know so little about them," she stopped, she was going to speak the truth and the truth while she had dealt with it was still painful to her. "My mother died during childbirth, I never got the chance to actually meet her, my father was... he was a drunk and a gambler, unable to recover from some of the actions he took in conflicts before I was born. I told this to Harry when I took him away at Christmas, I was given away to another man, to wipe away a debt... Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." She muttered, pained at the thought. No matter how you try to look at it, it didn't bring happiness to her, it brought sadness, with the inability of her father to clean himself up when she needed him most... she banished the thoughts, it didn't do to dwell on what had happened because it had allowed so many things to happen in her life, if it wasn't for that she wouldn't have this gift. If it wasn't for that she wouldn't have had the ability to come here and meet so many new people and make several new friends. "There's more, but not now." She said cutting herself off from getting too into it at the moment and Bathsheda nodded her head in understanding.

"What do you plan to do now?"

"Speak to Dumbledore, confirm my suspicions, though I'm not sure how I can do that. It isn't as if I can walk up to him and just say 'so Professor Dumbledore, I notice you have a trap corridor designed to lure in the spirit of the Dark Lord... are you sure that's wise to have it in a school of children?' somehow, I don't think it'd go over too well... and it would lead to too many questions that I don't want to answer right now. He thinks he knows how my powers work but he doesn't really. "And again, I'm working under the assumption as to what the tests are, I do not believe for a second I'm right if that is the case. at least I really hope that I'm wrong because he seems to be a good person but I don't see how a good person could knowingly place an entire school of children at risk like this just to test a theory." She sighed deeply as she tried to think on the situation. "We know what is in there now, we know roughly who is going to steal it though we have no proof as to whether it is him or not and now we just lack the how they're going to try and steal it."

"You-Know-Who feared Dumbledore, rumour had it that there was only one person who could truly cause fear in the former Dark Lord." Bathsheda explained, glancing back out the window. "As long as he's here then I doubt he will try anything overt."

"Like sending a Troll in?"

"You and I know that it was only a distraction, if he truly is alive, he has to be weakened at the moment." Bathsheda commented, "if he is weakened then there is no way he will try for a direct confrontation, he'll wait and bide his time, find some way to get his strength back up and then make his move when Dumbledore is distracted by something. With the Wizengamot, the ICW, his headmaster duties and various other small obligations he's going to be out of the school eventually."

"And when he does, Voldemort will strike." Elizabeth said watching as Bathsheda shuddered. She didn't say anything in regards to it though it did intrigue her with just how badly people reacted to a name. "I think I'll take my leave now, another early start tomorrow." She said, finishing the conversation as a thought crossed her mind, "good night Bathsheda." Elizabeth said politely and the Professor just nodded her head confused at the sudden stopping of the conversation but also realising that when Elizabeth had an idea that she was going to run with it almost as quickly as she came up with it. Elizabeth exited the room and practically ran back to her room. As she ran she heard a couple of the portraits making comments about her rushing through the corridor but she didn't pay attention to it. While the thought was in her head she had to make a note of it, she wasn't going to forget this. Turning the corner to her room she stopped, catching herself and calming down. "I have to keep some form of dignity, running through the corridor like that. What would people say?" She questioned jokingly to herself.

"I would assume it would be the same in regards to talking to yourself." A voice spoke, startling Elizabeth, she spun round, looking where she had just come from to see Dumbledore standing there. "Good Evening Miss DeWitt." He greeted as Elizabeth let out a sigh, calming herself down.

"Has anyone ever told you to wear a bell?" Elizabeth deadpanned, "you are way too sneaky for someone your age." She chided and Dumbledore smiled, his eyes sparkling in the way that only he seemed to be able to do.

"I apologise Miss DeWitt, though you seemed to be in your own little world," a definite emphasis was put on those words and Elizabeth knew what he was implying. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you." He politely requested and she nodded her head. It was not how she wanted to progress with this but perhaps at the same time, it was something that could be used to her advantage and just get everything out in the open. Secrets were not her strong point, she could keep quiet but she hated keeping them and with the way things were going with her interactions with the Malfoys, she wasn't sure how it was all going to play out and she was taking a big risk with it. But it was worth the chance that she was going to take.

"Of course, please, come in." She said politely, giving the password to the portrait and walking into her room, Dumbledore following after her. "I assume this is about what I've been up to this evening?" She asked and Dumbledore nodded his head, allowing her to speak to him. "Yes, Harry and myself did leave the grounds again, no I didn't get your permission for which I apologise... actually no, tell a lie, we never left the grounds." She corrected herself and saw the look of confusion that Dumbledore gave her. "I was vague before when we spoke and I have no doubt that you already know a little bit more than what I explained."

"From what I have learnt you open doorways, to places and times that could have been?"

"In essence yes. So, when we left, it was not myself who guided the way. I opened the tear that Harry thought about. You know he has access to this power, at least some form of it." She trailed off, focusing on downplaying how much Harry had access to. "He can see the rifts and he can manipulate them to an extent, the detention while it was meant to be for him to work on something because of his actions the previous evening," she didn't go into detail again, if Dumbledore knew then she wasn't going to waste time explaining it, if he didn't know then she wasn't going to get Harry in even more trouble. "It was also designed to test how much he can use the ability."

"How does he progress?" He asked in curiosity and Elizabeth smiled slightly.

"To be honest, what we did was a practice for myself as well as him, I pulled the door open from his thoughts, the tear had started to form and I was able to open it fully allowing us to take a look at where he wanted to explore."

"Forgive my curiosity, but your power is extraordinary, may I ask where you went?"

"Hogwarts, I couldn't tell you the date but I can tell you exactly where." She responded and Dumbledore gave her a knowing look.

"I believe I already know where you went and what you went to find."

"What are you doing Professor? Why are you playing such a huge risk by having the stone here in the school?" She questioned sharply, throwing all sense of avoidance on the topic out of the window. "What do you plan to gain from this? If Voldemort is still out there, then you know full well how the public would react to you baiting him to enter the school. If he's not, you're putting the safety of students at risk just by the process of having a Cerberus behind a door that can be unlocked by a spell that can be cast by even a first year. What were you thinking?" Elizabeth said not even giving him the chance to answer her question before she continued on. "And you've had ten years since his disappearance to find out whether or not he truly exists still and you wait until the moment that Harry comes to Hogwarts? What is the goal? Is it to test Harry? Is it to throw him to the wolves into a situation that he would more than likely not have had any preparation to deal with it?" She rattled of question after question, her annoyance at the fact that Harry had been drawn into the situation seeping in as she spoke.

"You've seen a lot, haven't you?" Dumbledore asked calmly as she finished her rant, catching her off guard at both at the blunt statement that the question was and the fact that he had ignored the questions that she had asked. "This gift you have, it's not something that someone would take lightly, to see everything, to know what could possibly happen... what will happen, just not here." He spoke softly, Elizabeth looked at him, trying to hold onto her anger at the actions that he had taken before sitting down on the edge of her bed looking at the Headmaster.

"I can't see it unless I focus on it." Elizabeth said calmly. "The mind knows how to protect itself, the amount of information that would come from seeing everything, it's too much for the brain to handle, it's blocked it off, I can tap into it whenever I need to but without that, I don't have the ability to know everything that is happening. If I did, we probably would have never met, I never would have been knocked unconscious and I never would have been stuck in that glass box all those years."

"The pressure on your shoulders, seeing all this, knowing that even if you interfere, there are still an infinite number of scenarios that happen where you didn't get involved," he started, sounding tired as he summed up her situation all too well, a hint of knowing in his voice as she looked down at the floor.

"I was compared to a God, I had power that others would kill to have, I have been controlled, manipulated, isolated and tortured all because of this power. Because My fa... The Prophet decided I was going to be the one to bring destruction on the world." She had almost stumbled, referring to Comstock as her father. It was something that she had sworn never to do even though technically, in a way he was her father. It got into a bit of a loop when you tried to think about it. The look of suspicion that Dumbledore gave her when she said this made her sigh. "Don't you see why I kept my past a secret? This power would be a boon to anyone except the person who has it. Expectations, demands, requests, everything will be directed at them, after all, you can see and be anywhere you want, you could change anything. Unless the person understands how it will not change anything here, they will never stop trying to get myself or Harry if he fully develops the power to do something that they believe would make their life better." Elizabeth explained sharply.

"How likely is it that Harry will develop the power to this level?" He questioned her, she stopped, thinking carefully about it. Already Harry was showing immense potential with the ability, he had opened the doorway, he had opened the rifts, she had pulled them back, that was it.

"Going off current evidence, the end of the year at least to have a full grasp of it." She admitted finally spelling it out to Dumbledore.

"A burden, for one as young as him."

"But a rewarding one, the things he can learn, the places he can go, the people he could meet. The limits are only his imagination... and his self-restraint. But we've become side-tracked, your plan... what was it?"

HPCVHPCV

"It's a Philosophers stone?" Terry muttered in sleepy amazement. Although Harry had made it back before Curfew had fully begun, terry had been tired, working on his Transfiguration spell, leaving him drained and he had fallen asleep quite early, he had not been happy that Harry had woken him up. "How do you know this? What's a Philosophers stone?" He asked, his mind not fully alert and paying attention to what he learnt.

"The clue we had been given, it's in the cards, the name clicked earlier, it had to be related to Dumbledore, so I thought about cards with him and any information on it. It led me to Nicholas Flamel, an Alchemist that worked with Dumbledore on the uses of Dragons Blood and with that being common knowledge it left me one thing that could possibly be kept a secret, something so valuable that anyone who knew about it would definitely try to get it if they knew it was there." Harry quickly explained.

"Okay, but for those of us that have just woken up, remind me again what the stone does?"

"If legends are true, you can use it to make gold, an infinite amount of gold, but it's other property is just as, if not infinitely more valuable, the Elixir of Life." Harry quickly explained and he saw the sleep vanish from Terry almost instantly.

"Infinite money and immortality? Are you sure we don't want to try and get it?" He asked jokingly though there was a hint of seriousness behind it. The temptation would be there for anyone and everyone. No matter what they thought, no matter how much they considered themselves against the thought, there would be that sliver of desire for it. Hell, Harry would freely admit if asked that he had been tempted to go for it when they were in the other dimension, but at the same time he stopped himself, he had no need for the gold at the moment with the amount that was in his vault and he had no need for the elixir of life at this point in his life. Besides it didn't stop you from being killed... whoever the attempted murderer was, they were still out there, plotting their actions carefully, of that he had no doubt. He didn't need to paint a bigger bullseye on his back by getting the stone. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Us? nothing... my first thought was to speak to Susan; her aunt works for the Law Enforcement and she'd probably have a thing or two to say about it being here."

"Works for? She is the Law Enforcement, she's head of the department." Terry explained quickly and Harry shrugged.

"Still, there's something going on with the stone and I don't want to force the hand of the person unless we have more answers when we can use the fact we know it's there to set a trap... I think I may have heard a few too many crime show phases." Harry muttered, thinking back to his time a the Dursley's, he may not have been able to watch the shows but he had heard the TV, Dudley liked to listen to it on a high volume, more to try and antagonise Harry than because of any need to have it that loud. "If they learn about the stone, there is no doubt they'd take it out of the school, it could force the thief to act without any concern for subtlety and that could lead to more people getting injured. With the stone being where it is and with us knowing it's there, we'll know if something goes wrong. But all of this just leads back to the same questions: Who is it? Why are they after the stone? Is it the same person as the one who cursed my broom? Too many questions and as we get answers we find more questions. I want to know what is going on and the only way we can do that is if we leave things as they are and watch."

"In other words, watch and learn like a Ravenclaw and not charge in like a Gryffindor." Terry said, summing it up in the form of Houses and Harry nodded his head, they would watch and they would learn and when they had what they needed then they would act.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Before you leave Headmaster, I have one final question to ask you." Elizabeth said, stifling a yawn, looking at the aging headmaster who looked as fatigued as she felt.

"You just did, but I suppose I can allow one more." He said and Elizabeth shook her head, even after the seriousness of this evenings conversations, he still took the time to lighten the mood.

"Why the Dursley's?" She asked quietly, it had been at the back of her mind since she met them, of all the places that Harry could go to, why them?

"Harry being left with the Dursley's was not an easy decision to make. I know his Aunt, I knew that it was possible that he would not have the best childhood with them, but it was where he was safest. There are protections that surround him, I will admit that I am still unsure as to their extent but when his Mother died she left a powerful protection, one that was fuelled by the sacrifice. But even that would wain over time, but there was something that could charge it." He stopped, giving her a pointed look.

"Family."

"As long as his aunt was willing to take him into her home, to raise him, he would be protected and safe from those that would wish him harm."

"Except from those covered by the protections."

"True, not the most pleasant of homes but a home that kept him protected from Voldemort's followers." He sighed, his form showing his regret over the decision. "As long as he is welcomed at Privet Drive, the protections will keep him safe, to keep the protections charged at this time all he would need to do would be to spend one month a year."

"I'm surprised you're telling me all this."

"Conversations with both yourself and a few other associates have made me think, a person is never too old to adapt, to change their attitudes and learn from past mistakes." He explained with a smile, Elizabeth nodded but didn't meet his eye as she looked away, thinking back to some of her mistakes. They had been costly and she had learned from them. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She replied politely to him as he left. as the exit closed, she sighed. "One step forward, two steps back, I was ready to tear him apart for his actions... but he listened." She smiled, turning, and walking to her desk, a closed notepad rested on the top, one that she had started writing in shortly after Christmas. She opened it up, turning to her last entry and frowning as she stared at it, focusing on what she had written, two lines that continued to sit at the back of her mind, making her question her ability ever so slightly.

 _Who was I chasing?_

 _Who attacked me?_

TBC

Chapter 14 is here and I hope you enjoy

The more I think about it though the more I think they worked out what each room was going to be a bit too easily, chalk it up to subconsciously drawing upon their power for a little bit of insight into whats going on.

Chapter 15 has been completed and is ready for upload next Saturday and I've started on chapter 16 now, my goal is to try and write 1000-1500 words a day so that next Saturday I'll have completed chapter 16 and will be working on chapter 17.


	15. Chapter 15: To Malfoy Manor

**Chapter 15: To Malfoy Manor  
**

 _Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by me.  
_

Easter was upon them, Elizabeth was both anticipating and dreading the event that was to come. After all, she was heading straight into the lion's den... Well, the Serpents Lair would be more accurate giving who she was going to be staying with for the next few days but either worked. She would be taking the train with the Students back to London and meeting the Malfoys at the station. Draco had practically insisted that she sit with him on the train journey and she had agreed to do so. She briefly wondered who else would be in there as well but figured that it would be Crabbe and Goyle along with a few others. She looked at the book that she was going to be taking with her, a book on magical creatures that had arrived the morning before. An elf had appeared to take her clothes, he looked a bit worse for wear and was nervous around her as he took her bags. She didn't even catch his name before he took her stuff straight to Malfoy Manor.

A little voice in her mind questioned the action, was it that they wanted to be helpful or was it that the items taken were going to be searched through before she arrived. The only reason she had agreed for the elf to take it was because of the look of fear in his eyes when she had hesitated to let him take it. It reminded her of some of the actions the black people in Columbia had taken when she and Booker had entered areas that white people were dissuaded from entering. Downcast and defeated from being mistreated and looked down upon by those who believed they were superior.

"I don't want you to go." Harry said, tearing Elizabeth from her thoughts looking at him and smiling softly.

"I have to, I gave my word, besides... nothing bad will happen to me that I can't get away from." She comforted as she walked over to him, looking out the window down into the school grounds. "People know that I am going to the Malfoy Mansion for the next few days, if I was to suddenly disappear then questions that they don't want anyone to ask will be asked, I have no doubt that it's an attempt to try and get my support in whatever their plan is." A small lie on the end there, she knew that it was the original reason, invite her over, make friends and then try and use her ability like Comstock used the Lutece Twins. But the situation had changed quite drastically with Narcissa using that potion, she now saw that the power that the two of them had access was vastly different to what she thought it had been originally. The vision of the future that she had taken her to had scared her and badly at that. What thoughts had been going through her head over the last couple of weeks, what changes to her schemes had happened through Elizabeth showing her this possible outcome. Would it be for the better or could she now be planning something that would hit the Wizarding World while avoiding the return of Voldemort?

"It's not safe, Draco may not be as bad as everyone believes him to be because of who his father is... but his father will be there, I don't trust him." Harry said seriously and she remained silent for several moments.

"It's possible that everything the rumours say is true, that he was essentially second only to Voldemort, it may be true that he wasn't under whatever spell was allegedly controlling him, but we've learnt through Hogwarts that no ward he puts up will prevent me from escaping if he did try something. It would tip my hand but I'd still be alive. I have no problem with that outcome, it may even cause him to stop and think for a moment before he tries to control me, knowing that I could strike at him at any time, at any point." She spoke with a seriousness that surprised Harry for a moment before he remembered what she had told him about Columbia, not that much but enough to know that she had seen some horrible things, that she had experienced some horrible things and knew how to take care of herself if things truly went wrong.

"I still don't like it."

"Sometimes we must do things that others don't like, because it is necessary to shape what is to come for the better." She said, idly she wondered if this is how Dumbledore started losing his attachment to things, the ability to justify actions for the greater good like this and wondered if this is how Comstock truly came to decide how everything would play out. She froze, the comparison of her action to Comstock disgusting her, forcing her to pause and rethink the idea. "No, that's a bad example, thoughts along those lines can lead to horrible results. I'm doing this because I gave my word that I would go," she explained, it had been something that they had talked about a little, a person's word was important, if you couldn't take someone at their word then they were not one to trust any other time. Associate with them by all means, but don't trust them when the time comes. "I'll be back in a few days, I'm not staying the full week and Dumbledore was kind enough to organise a portkey to return me here." She said as the two turned and exited the room. "C'mon walk me down to the Great Hall." She said happily as they began their trek. "What do you have planned for the next couple of days?"

"Homework... with the amount they've piled on, I fell a bit behind. Now I don't have to spend the time researching the you know what, I'm going to work on getting that done, plus end of year exams are coming up so I should probably start studying for them." He joked lightly, he had fallen a bit behind on the work but at the same time he had generally been ahead of the work. "Other than that, Hagrid said he had something to show me so I'm going to visit him as well."

"You're getting along with him then?"

"Hagrid's a great guy, He's been around the school for so long and the amount of tales he has... not to mention some of the creatures that he's cared for." Harry commented slightly defensively, Elizabeth just smiled in response.

"He is a good man. Anyone taking the time to talk to him would be able to tell that." She agreed with him, although she hadn't spent time with the giant man, she had enjoyed the few times that she had spoken to him. "Though I get the idea that his idea of harmless doesn't exactly match up with everyone else." She said lightly, the two sharing a grin as they entered the Great Hall.

"Elizabeth, I was hoping to catch you before you got away." Bathsheda said, practically blindsiding the two of them as they stepped off the stairs, Bathsheda grabbing her arm and pulling the two of them to the side of the stairway, away from the other students that were milling around throwing curious glances at the three of them, Elizabeth and Bathsheda for her quick action and one which was mixed with amusement at the way Harry was almost pulled completely off balanced by the sudden change of direction.

"I was going to get breakfast first." Elizabeth said weakly as she steadied herself, unhooking her arm from Harry's as she looked at Bathsheda in confusion.

"I didn't know if you had already eaten, wanted to make sure I didn't miss you."

"And so, you practically tackled me off the stairway?" She asked in amusement and Bathsheda chuckled in embarrassment.

"Well I may have over reacted but considering where you're going I had to stop you before you left and give you something. Consider it an early birthday present." She said, handing a small box to Elizabeth.

She looked at it in confusion, the box was small and plain, no decoration or anything, she opened it slowly and gasped, a bracelet sat inside, several different gems attached to it, each had markings carved on them. "It's a rune bracelet, there are several different ones but you only need to know about these three at the moment." Bathsheda said, lifting the bracelet, and pointing at three gems, a blue a green and a red gem. "The blue one will act as a warning device, designed to detect any foreign potion being used on you I worked with Severus on it for about a week to set it up right, any drink or food you pick up with the hand that has this bracelet will be checked and if there is any potion detected it'll warm up against the skin." Elizabeth took the bracelet, looking at the gem, seeing the intricate runes that had been carved into it, barely taking away from the beauty of the gem. "The green one is designed to detect spells, it won't be able to tell what spell is being cast but when it detects a spell cast against you then it'll send a little shock into your arm, nothing that will make it obvious to anyone else that it has happened but enough for you to notice it."

"Wont she know if someone casts a spell on her? They're not exactly quiet." Harry questioned having not come across silent spellcasting before Bathsheda smiled politely to him.

"If only it were that easy, spells can be cast silently, in fact some of them lose efficiency if they are cast vocally, after all, it's easier to catch someone unaware with something if you're not shouting it out." Bathsheda explained to him, getting a nod in understanding she turned her attention back to Elizabeth. "The last gem is an emergency Portkey, when used, they'll know you'll use it because it's got a few ward buster runes engraved on it. Designed to shatter any wards that prevent portkey wards. Dumbledore didn't want me to give this to you because of the damage it could cause to you and the area around but he agreed it was necessary for this situation." She explained as Elizabeth put on the bracelet.

"Damage to myself? how do you mean?"

"It'll tap into your magic to fuel the ward buster, depending on how powerful the wards are, it could knock you out and knock you out cold. Use that if you don't want to use your other tools." Bathsheda said pointedly. "Take care and hopefully have a good time, but the escape is there if you need it. Keep it on you at all times."

"Where will it take me if I activate it?"

"Dumbledore keyed it into the wards, you'll reappear in the Hospital Wing. Even if you're in good condition it's better to turn up there with how draining it potentially could be." Bathsheda finished as Elizabeth slid the bracelet box into her pocket.

"Thank you, I'll take care while I'm there." She promised and Bathsheda stepped to the side allowing her to head into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Is she really in that much trouble?" Harry asked Bathsheda, watching his friend make her way over to the Slytherin table.

"To be honest I don't think so. It's too public for them to do anything permanent to her now," Bathsheda started hesitantly. "I am working under the belief that she is going to be protected because she is an invited guest. If anything happened to her while she was there it would come back badly on them in their social circle." She explained getting a look of confusion in response. "I'll explain it to you later, go have breakfast." She said with a small smile and a slight nudge towards the Great Hall before turning and making her way up the stairs into the castle proper.

Elizabeth walked over to the Slytherin table, a space left available next to Draco that she took, Daphne Greengrass sitting next to her and on the other side she saw Pansy and Blaize who didn't give her the warmest of looks. "Morning everyone." She greeted politely getting mumbled, half tired responses. "Are many of you heading home today?" She asked and they shook their heads, not really committing to speaking now.

"Exam nerves are setting in." Draco said with a smirk, no sign of any tiredness or nervousness. "They're staying to continue studying."

"And you're not feeling nervous?" She asked with a slight smirk, "then you're either very confident or you're underestimating the situation that's coming." She joked lightly and Draco hmphed and took on an air of arrogance.

"I am a Malfoy, we succeed at whatever we do." He said smugly and Elizabeth couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you're certain," she replied with a small smile seeing Pansy rolling her eyes at his actions. "So, do we have anything planned for the few days that I'm visiting?"

"Mother has a couple of ideas but nothing has been set in stone, she wants to confirm it with you." Draco explained, she nodded in understanding, seeing the flash of a frown on Pansy's features but dismissed it. She knew that associating with the Malfoy's would draw negative attention from both 'sides' she had heard that the Parkinson family were close to the Malfoy family and that with the use of Marriage Contracts still enacted in the Wizarding World, she had a hunch there was possibly one between these two. Pansy had been cold and abrupt to her if she wasn't spoken to directly, at that point she became entirely diplomatic and polite. But there was something in her eyes that showed something ticking away, it put Elizabeth on edge slightly, although she was just a kid, she had come to understand that even that was not something someone should use as a way to dismiss someone as harmless.

"And what about you do you have any plans?" She asked Draco who after a moments pause to think, shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you ever been horse-riding?" He suggested and she shook her head. "We have a stable that have Abraxans."

"Abraxans? I haven't heard of them before. I take it they're a breed of horse?"

"Winged Horses." Draco responded with a smile, gaining a look of surprise and interest from Elizabeth.

"You've got to show me them when we get there then." She said excitement in her voice, she had read about Horse-riding, she wanted to try it and now with winged horses? she was even more intrigued by it.

She helped herself to breakfast, letting the conversation around her evolve without her input, listening to several of them talking about their exams, Daphne mentioning about struggling slightly with her charms work, the home work she had handed in was a high quality but she seemed to be struggling with the actual practical part of it. "Can I offer a suggestion?" Elizabeth interrupted Daphne and Tracey. "There's a Hufflepuff seventh Year, her name is Tonks, she'd be able to help you, she's an expert at Transfiguration from what I've seen." Elizabeth explained pointing out the pink haired Hufflepuff sitting at the Hufflepuff table. "She'd probably be willing to help you if you ask." She got nods in response though there seemed to be a bit of a look from Draco.

She didn't say anything, she'd ask later about it when the others weren't around. Less chance of making a confrontation as he tries to repeat views that his parents had given him rather than ones he had come up with on his own. "Oh, I just remembered, we won't be getting the train back to London to get back to the Manor." Draco spoke quickly, recalling a letter that had arrived yesterday.

"No? how are we getting there then?"

"Father will be at Hogsmeade with a portkey for us." Draco explained, getting a nod from Elizabeth in understanding, "you've travelled by Portkey before?"

"No, I've done side along apparation and the Knight Bus but not Portkey." There were a few smirks shared between the others at this. "I take it I'm in for a fun time with it then?" She asked getting another round of smirks, "oh... joy." She deadpanned drawing laughter from them. "That's it, take amusement from my suffering, before I even go through it." That generated more laughter, she mock sighed, bowing her head, "you lot are little sadists, aren't you?" She asked sadly before looking around with a smile, seeing the tension that the group had lifting slightly.

"So, you've got to have some clue as to what is coming with the exams."

"Smooth Tracey, very smooth." Daphne commented sarcastically drawing an indignant response from Tracey. "Never been one for subtlety, have you?"

"She knows we'd fish for clues as to what it is, why dance around the obvious?" Tracey said dismissively.

"And on that note, I think it's time we go." Draco interrupted before she could respond to them. Getting up from the table, holding his hand out to Elizabeth to help her even though it was completely unnecessary.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Daphne deadpanned getting a laugh from Tracey and a smaller snicker from Pansy although she tried to cover it up.

Draco and Elizabeth exited the Great Hall. "Did the elves come and get your gear last night?" He asked getting a nod in response.

"He seemed to be a bit skittery when he came, was he okay?"

"Elves are not meant to be seen, they prefer to work in the background without any interference or actions from us. They don't do well with interacting with Wizards and Witches." Draco explained calmly as they walked out onto the grounds towards the front carriage. "Invaluable workers though, I don't think many households can function without them." He said gaining a curious look from Elizabeth.

"With the amount of spells you have, you really think the households wouldn't cope if they were gone?" She asked in disbelief.

"We are old noble families, its beneath us to do menial labour like that." He said arrogantly, Elizabeth didn't say anything shaking her head as she stepped into the carriage.

"Is that really what you believe?"

"It's what we have servants for." He responded confidently, shutting the door behind him and banging on it to signal for the carriage to start moving. Normally it would wait for more students but with the lack of students leaving they were set to go with someone banging on the carriage if there was no one else to come.

"And what happens when the servants want to move up in their position?" She questioned as the Carriage started to move, looking at Draco who sat on the opposite bench.

"How do you mean?" Draco asked in confusion, like the whole idea was completely foreign to him.

"No one wants to be a servant forever, what happens when someone wants to move up, become their own person, not live subservient to others and create their own noble family?" Elizabeth questioned.

"It's the nature of blood, those with the right blood will stand out and stand above those that don't. It's how it has always been with this world."

"Until a revolution happens." Elizabeth countered calmly, "what happens when you keep a group oppressed? what happens when you shut off everything from them? they will lash out, a caged bird will still try to free itself if it can because it's their nature to soar through the sky." Elizabeth commented calmly.

"They'd rebel and they'd be stopped."

"How, by arresting everyone or killing them?" She asked trying to make him see through the argument that he had no doubt been taught in the past as he grew up. "You remove them and you are left with doing the jobs that you hired them to do before. See the flaw in the logic? you claim to have the power but in truth it is them that have it, they're just not seeing it now." Before Draco could respond the carriage came to a stop. "Just think about it." She requested as he opened the door, stepping out and turning offering his hand to her. "Thank you." The two walked towards the Three Broomsticks where Lucius was planning to meet with them.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked as they walked the otherwise deserted street.

"You almost sound like I should be worried about spending time at yours." She joked with him getting a small smirk.

"Not at all, you'll have a great time." Draco replied, rounding the corner to the Three Broomsticks. "There's my father." He said with a nod towards a blonde-haired man that stood outside the bar waiting for the two of them.

"I can see where you got the hair from." She said lightly before schooling herself for what was to come.

"Father," Draco greeted stiffly with a small nod. The man in question looked at Draco gave a nod of greeting and then looked at Elizabeth, "this is Miss Elizabeth DeWitt," he started the introduction. "Miss DeWitt, my father and head of the Malfoy Family, Lucius Malfoy." It was a formal greeting and Elizabeth, knowing protocol offered her hand to the man who took it and kissed it in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss DeWitt."

"The feeling is mutual Mr Malfoy." She responded just as formally as he let go of her hand. "Thank you for allowing me to stay at your home for the next couple of days."

"The honour is mine Miss DeWitt; my wife speaks highly of you as does my son." He responded just as calmly. "I do hope my son has been keeping up with his lessons and work and not causing you any undue problems."

"He works well, it's near the top of the class." She responded smoothly, part of her had been tempted to add that he could be higher up if he applied himself a bit better but this was neither the time or the place. "I understand that we're travelling by Portkey?" She asked, getting a nod in response. "Forgive my question but why aren't we travelling by side along apparation? I'm afraid I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the different transportation methods." She stated, watching his reaction wondering whether her lack of knowledge would spark a look of disregard but he didn't let anything slip if he thought less of her for not knowing.

"While side along apparation would be a possibility if it was just the two of us, with each person added it greatly increases the risk of Splinching, I think you would agree that such a risk for a small trip like this is not necessary." He replied smoothly getting a nod from Elizabeth in understanding, she had been told what Splinching was and was in no rush to suffer it herself.

"Thank you for answering the question." She said as Lucius withdrew a pocket watch with a longer than average chain attached to it.

"This watch has been enchanted with a Portkey charm on it, when I give the activation phrase it will transport whoever is touching it back to Malfoy Manor." He explained holding it out to Elizabeth who gingerly took it. "Draco, time to go." He ordered and Draco who had been standing back as the two introduced themselves, stepped forwards and placed his hand on the Pocket Watch. " _Domum._ " Lucius muttered and Elizabeth shuddered as she felt a tug at her navel the world spinning around her.

Almost as soon as it started it was gone and she was regretting eating breakfast as she could feel it begin to rise in the back of her throat as she staggered, the world stopped spinning but her head didn't. She felt a hand grip her arm, steadying her, and looked to see Draco had reacted to her distress. "Are you okay? First time travelling that normally leaves people on the floor."

"I'm fine, I just need a second to gather... my... bearings..." She trailed off as she saw her first view of the place she would be staying. Malfoy Manor was huge, in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by open land. The building itself was several stories high, the walls on the outside clean and showed they were maintained to a high standard. It was an impressive looking mansion but part of her wondered if it really needed to be this big for three people.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Draco asked and she nodded.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," Lucius spoke and Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts. "Draco, why don't you show our guest around?" Lucius suggested calmly. "I would offer to do it myself but I have a few more tasks to sort out before I can act as a proper host." He said as an apology to Elizabeth.

"Thank you, I understand that the world still revolves even when guests appear, do not feel the need to put yourself out to accommodate me." She said politely, getting a small nod as a dismissal as Draco led her into the Manor. As they walked into the Main Entrance, Elizabeth glanced at Draco. "What is it your father does?" She asked as Draco led her up a staircase that dominated the Entrance Hall, leading up onto the next floor and leading her down a hallway.

"He's involved in many different things, he does work at the ministry, he has several Businesses that he's involved in from Potions ingredient making and shipping to Agricultural work. There is very little that the Malfoy Family isn't involved in some shape or form." Draco said proudly.

"That's quite a legacy to live up to. Are you ready for it?"

"I still have years to prepare for it. Although I will reach my majority at Seventeen, I doubt that Father is just going to retire from public life that quickly, I'll take my time, learn what there is to learn and take over when everything is ready to do so."

"But what about what you want? is just following in the footsteps of your family what you want to do?"

"Why wouldn't it be? The Malfoy family is associated with Greatness, Wealth and Power." Draco responded in confusion not understanding why people would want to refuse that.

"There are many families in the Non-Magical world where the child, wanting to make a name for themselves has been disowned or ignored because they did not want to follow in their parent's footsteps and have gone down in history. Have you ever heard of Florence Nightingale?" Elizabeth questioned, waiting for him to respond and after a moment of thoughtfulness he nodded his head. "It was not her parents' choice for her to become a nurse, it was hers against their wishes and look where she is now, she is known by nearly everyone for what she did in the medical field which I'm sure some of that has rolled into the Wizarding World." Elizabeth explained and Draco nodded slowly in understanding and inwardly cursed as he realised this had slipped to talking about Muggle Life even if there were connections to the wizarding world. "Another example, Edgar Allan Poe, a famous writer that many credit as one of the inventors of Detective Stories, his adopted father disowned him for not following his wishes to go into the same line of work and now look at the history books. Edgar Allan Poe is synonymous with great writing among other things."

"And what about in the magical world? you're speaking about Muggles who hold less regard for things such as tradition."

"In all honesty, I couldn't say, I don't know enough about the magical world to properly give an example." She admitted bluntly.

"It doesn't happen, Tradition, family, it's everything."

"That's not entirely true." Another voice interrupted, startling the two of them. they turned around, Narcissa Malfoy having exited a room attached to the hallway they had been walking down had caught both completely by surprise.

"Mother?" Draco said in confusion.

"There is a prime example right in our family Draco." She said pointedly and Draco frowned.

"Her? but she's a blood traitor!" Draco snapped, shadows of past teachings shining through in the moment, Elizabeth studying his actions, seeing the almost robotic switch to anger at a perceived betrayal.

"She is also your Aunt by blood and probably one of the best Lawyers in the Magical World, breaking boundaries of being disowned from family and gender." Narcissa countered bluntly. "Regardless of personal views, she is a very successful person that validates Miss DeWitt's point."

"An exception doesn't disprove the rule." Draco said dismissively and Narcissa smiled.

"That will be all Draco, I believe you have Homework to do?" She questioned with a slight edge, giving the universal sign for Draco to make his departure.

"Yes Mother," he replied politely and quickly turned around and departed, opening a door stepping through and closing it with a soft click.

"I think we need to continue our conversation from before." Narcissa said calmly, not showing any sign of how she felt before. The Two walked down to the end of the Hallway, Narcissa leading the way in silence, a sense of foreboding settling in the back of her mind. She opened a door, stepping to the side, and allowing Elizabeth to enter first. "This is my private study, we should not be interrupted here." She explained as Elizabeth saw a bookcase filled with books of varying age and genre, light shone in from a window, the curtains pulled back to allow full access to view the gardens outside.

"You have a private study?" Elizabeth asked in curiosity.

"We all do, the house is big enough, a room outside of our quarters to do what business we each attend to in private. Draco has one though as you can probably expect it's more of a child's play room than anything else at his age." Narcissa said with a smirk of amusement as she stepped into the room, letting the door close behind her. "Before you ask, there are silencing wards on the rooms so that nothing inside can be heard outside, more to prevent eavesdroppers than anything else, they have been up long before you arrived and no doubt will be up long after you leave." Narcissa explained and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"And the drinks that will get delivered?" She questioned with a hint of animosity seeping in though Narcissa dismissed the tone and answered the question.

"Regardless of my actions in the past, they are clean. You answered the questions I had to have answered to protect my son, from there you can choose how you want to answer things." Narcissa explained as she walked around the desk that took up the centre of the room, pulling out her chair and sitting down. "I'm sure you can't begrudge a mother worrying about her child in the face of an unknown entity?"

"No I can't. I can't say what I would do in your shoes as I've never been in them but I cannot truly hold it against you to act in a manner to protect your child." She admitted with resignation in her voice, she wanted to hate Narcissa Malfoy for what she did, the violation of her rights but at the same time her mind just kept with the idea that her action had been the least extreme with the circumstances presented... or more to the point, they had stopped her true identity from being blown and everything being thrown out the window. Elizabeth walked over to the bookcase looking at the books that were on display. "Non-Magical Literature as well as Magical?" Elizabeth asked as she saw a couple of books with titles that she had in her collection when she was trapped in the Tower.

"Regardless of my beliefs about them I will not deny that they have creative minds that are able to bring some fantastic creations into existence. Have you heard of an Author by the name of J.R.R. Tolkien?"

She racked her brain for moment, trying to think of the name, it didn't sound familiar to her in the slightest and she shook her head. "I can't say that I have, are they someone you recommend?"

"A Muggle who wrote one of the most well-known fantasy books, there are some Wizards and witches who believe that he actually knew about our world with some of the references to magic but no one could ever prove anything."

"Huh, that's interesting... I'll have to consider it at some point." She said as she walked away from the bookcase standing behind the chair that sat at the opposite side of the desk to Narcissa.

"You can sit down, it's not enchanted or anything along those lines."

"Maybe, but I'd prefer to stand at the moment." She said calmly, knowing full well that if this was a ploy then her sitting would limit her ability to move at a moment's notice if someone did attack her. "I doubt that your book collection is what you wanted to talk about, so what is it that you want?" She asked and Narcissa looked thoughtful, turning her head, looking out the window to the grounds below.

"You showed me what will happen if You-Know-Who wins, that's a future I do not want to see happen, the destruction of everything that I've tried to make, that my family has tried to create."

"You want to know how to stop it?"

"Over this time, all I've been thinking has been in regards to that which you showed me... how to change it, what could be done to influence it away from that decision and the only thing that I can think of would destroy tradition that has held the wizarding world together for so long. I believe... though I don't wish to admit it, that my views are too... jaded for lack of a better word, I cannot think things through clearly."

"And so, you turn to me to find out what I'm willing to share?" Elizabeth asked cautiously getting a resigned nod from Narcissa. "Not how I expected this to go but as you can probably tell, I didn't think highly about this entire situation to begin with. To truly avoid that, I mean avoid it at all costs the Wizarding World needs to be turned upside down and Inside Out." She said bluntly and Narcissa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she saw the truth in the words being spoken. "I'm not saying remove tradition entirely, Tradition as a foundation can work but the separation of people due to blood is going to tear the world apart. Even through the limited time I've been here I can see the undercurrents forming."

"But what you are asking... The Dark Families would never agree to such a radical change, not without explaining why the change would need to be done."

"No." Elizabeth interrupted bluntly, "The fact that you know is bad enough, they cannot be allowed to know what I can do."

"On that we agree, it was lucky that I was the one that found out about your ability and not any of the other families, they would not be as kind as to let you walk freely with what you can do."

"Of that I have no doubt." Elizabeth said sharply, "they would try and they would fail," she spoke confidently and Narcissa laughed.

"Oh child, you are so ignorant to our ways and our capabilities, do not think you could escape just because you have yet to see what we can truly do." Narcissa warned and Elizabeth found herself silently agreeing but didn't say anything, there were still too many unknowns for her to truly confirm that she could escape if they really wanted to keep her hostage. "Which leads us back to the point, what do we do to fix things?"

It was a sensitive game that Narcissa was playing, not that she'd ever say it aloud. Every time Narcissa said something to try and focus Elizabeth's attention there would be snippets of information that she could glean with passive Legilimency, she wasn't actively trying to read it but she wasn't trying to stop from listening to the items that were being almost broadcasted, her mind was a veritable treasure trove of possibilities and ideas that Narcissa had every intention of taking advantage of. "Fixing things will take time but each action... you'll need to appeal to people... give them something they don't want masked as something they do want."

"Time, I did not expect this to be a quick task, the question is, do we have enough time?" Narcissa asked more herself than Elizabeth as she turned to look out the window again, it was something that relaxed her, something that allowed her to forget about everything, just focus on the beauty of the nature that was right outside her home. "But that is something we should continue to talk about later, my son was starting a tour of the house was he not?" At the nod, she continued. "Then perhaps, you'll allow me to continue it?"

HPCVHPCV

Meanwhile at Hogwarts things were taking a turn for the interesting with Harry upon his visit to Hagrid. The Hut had smoke billowing from the Chimney, the curtains were drawn shut and Fang had been left outside, Hagrid had asked to see him and he wasn't to bring anyone else with him.

That was enough to put Harry on edge, Hagrid didn't seem to dislike the others but maybe it was for reasons that had his hut shrouded in smoke and secrecy. Harry stepped up to the door knocking on it and waiting, glancing at Fang who was barely awake, watching him through tired eyes. The door creaked open and Hagrid stood looking at him through the crack in the door. "Ah, Harry I'm glad you could make it." Hagrid stepped back, opening the door wider and Harry went to step in but stopped as a wave of hit crashed over him.

"Hagrid, why is it so hot in here?" He asked in surprise as he recovered and stepped into the hut, already he could feel sweat starting to form on his brow at the sudden change in temperature.

"Has to be Harry, Gotta keep it at a certain temperature, otherwise I'd have the windows open. It's why Fangs outside, didn't want him to suffer the heat." Hagrid explained as he moved around to make a cup of tea for Harry. As he did so, Harry caught glimpse of something in the fireplace, a black object that looked to be shaped like an egg.

"What is that?" Harry asked, walking over to the fireplace.

"That? Well, that's what I wanted to show you Harry. I figured since you knew about Fluffy... Really shouldn't have told you about him, you'd be interested in seeing this," he placed the cup down on the table then moved back over to the fire place. "It's a dragon egg."

"It's a What!?"

TBC

Chapter 15 is here and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 16 is almost completed. I'm on the last little section now.

Chapter 17 is going to hopefully be the end of the main part of Year One.

After I finish year one I'm going to be taking a little break from the writing to try and both plan things through a bit more and then also spend a bit more time writing it out. At the moment I'm barely keeping up with where I want to be.

That and I've got a couple of family things coming up that are going to occupy my time for a little while.


	16. Chapter 16: Grand Plans

**Chapter 16: Grand Plans**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock, I'm just making a small little sandcastle in the play pit of creativity._

The tour of the Manor had been interesting. To be honest it left Elizabeth's head spinning at the sheer size of it. She just did not see the need for someone to live like this, the rooms were all clean and dust free but Narcissa had explained the elves maintained it, they enjoyed their work, but she also admitted that a lot of the rooms were no longer used, just down to the fact that the family was not big enough to take full advantage of the house and with the ease of use for the Floo Network and Portkeys along with Apparation, there was just no need for people to stay in the guest rooms unless they really needed to or they were like Elizabeth and visiting specifically for the next couple of days, but that rarely happened anymore, social circles were smaller now and each had their secrets to hide, to prevent material and blackmail that could be used against them in future parts.

The last bit wasn't said to Elizabeth but she knew that it was there in the back of her mind, she could almost hear the hidden undertones being spoken.

Maybe because they were.

Or they would be?

She cleared her mind, dismissing the tangents that they were already travelling along as Narcissa lead her towards the Garden, carefully maintained by several Elves specifically for their gardening skills. It was well maintained, the grass cut, flowers and plants along the edges of the path that ran through the middle towards a water fountain display. In Elizabeth's mind, it was very elegant but again, she just felt it was too much for her tastes. Maybe it had been because of Columbia, living trapped away in the Tower, yes, she had access to pretty much anything she wanted. It had been a cage, but a gilded cage that had held her. At the same time, now that she was free she didn't see the need for half the things that she had and that many had been a product of necessity, Puzzle Books and Lock picking skills, both had been in her attempt to escape. She enjoyed what she had learnt and they had proven infinitely useful to her but the question remained, if circumstances had been different would she have learnt those skills? The art had been to capture some of the imagination and snippets of other times that she had seen, to remind herself of the world that was waiting just outside the walls that held her, both a dream of what she could see and do and a nightmare, things just out of reach constantly tantalizing her. As her powers had diminished the books had become more of a way to understand both what she had been doing through those written by the Lutece Twins and the fantasy books.

It had always surprised her that Comstock had kept those books in the library that was in her tower. Perhaps it was because he thought that she would be less likely to try to escape if her nose was buried in a good book? It didn't matter now though, here she was walking around a huge manor and all she could think of was the past. "How much time do they spend tending the gardens?" Elizabeth asked out of curiosity as she crouched down looking at a small collection of flowers.

"The Elves work nearly all day to maintain it, there are a few plants that we have that are also more accustomed to the dark, they alternate and work both day and night."

"That must be tiring, do they get time off?" Elizabeth asked in slight concern, even though she knew of the House Elves after spending time at Hogwarts she hadn't spent much time trying to learn about them as a species.

Narcissa chuckled at that, "Time off? They have no wish for time off or pay or anything like that. Their one enjoyment is to work." Narcissa explained calmly drawing a confused look from Elizabeth. "You haven't learnt anything about them yet, have you?"

"Not yet, I keep meaning to but something always comes up." In a way, it was the truth. When she first learnt about them it was during the first few days of School and she had been more distracted with learning her way around and working on the subjects and then as time passed by her, she forgot about them and then all the chaos that happened, it had just slipped her mind, light curiosity over powered by the magnitude of chaos going on in the world.

"They don't want time off, they don't want pay, in their own minds, the work is their reward for the bond they have with a wizarding family." Narcissa started to explain as Elizabeth stood up, the two walking along the path towards the fountain at the centre of this part of the garden. In the distance, she could see a paddock set up for several horses and a table which already had several cups and a pot of tea waiting for them.

"What can I expect from Lucius?" Elizabeth asked as the two women were sat at a table overlooking a field that had several Abraxan grazing in it. "I know you'll have told him something about me."

"He knows you can see but not to what extent." Narcissa admitted, lifting her cup to her lips, taking a sip of the tea that had been delivered, potion free she had assured Elizabeth so as not to have a repeat of the Three Broomsticks incident. "He'll fish for information, try to see what you're willing to divulge in regards to his decisions, I hope you've paid attention to the politics that have been happening recently."

"To an extent, there isn't much to talk about in the mornings with everyone half asleep, I have taken to reading the Prophet every now and again." She admitted though she didn't comment about how biased it was, another comparison she felt towards Columbia and how they acted towards those they felt were beneath them. The articles generally held promotional aspects towards whoever was in charge and didn't hesitate to tear down anyone who did not follow the party line, the current trend focusing on the current Non-Human and Dark Creature Employment Act that was being pushed in the Wizengamot, to prevent people with certain conditions and non-humans getting work without being held under severe restrictions and preventing them from accessing certain aspects of the Wizarding World. "I don't need to see multiple variations to know what the best course of action here is going to be." Elizabeth said almost dismissively. Perhaps it was over confidence, perhaps it was arrogance or perhaps it was something else but she felt ready for whatever Lucius planned to bring up for conversation when she inevitably ran into him again. "But you're the bigger puzzle for me." Elizabeth admitted calmly, holding her cup to her lips, studying the woman that just kept raising questions.

"Oh?"

"Of the Malfoy's it's you who I am warned about the most, Lucius is considered transparent in his actions and Draco is too young though from what I've been told, he's taking after his father... when I'm not around." She said pointedly, making it clear that she knew that part of what Draco was doing was an act, not sure as to whether the actions he took when she wasn't around or when she was around being the act. "My talks and letters with you have been the most confusing though, you have plans, I can see them ticking away in the back of your mind even through the mask that you hide everything with but I've also seen you willing to throw it all away at a potential risk of danger to your son and almost immediately after you see that I'm not trying to be a threat, you're back to planning." Elizabeth explained and Narcissa didn't respond, the only indication that she was listening properly being a raised eyebrow as she thought about what Elizabeth said.

"So, what is my plan then?" She asked after several moments of silence. Elizabeth looked at her and shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't know, survival would be the main part, you know the world is changing and changing quite dramatically and you want to make sure both the Malfoy family and the Black Legacy survive and at a guess with the way the Pureblood Society holds such a focus on legacy and history of families, being able to stand there and claim that you are the direct legacy of the Ancient House of Black would be a big stepping stone in all the fields of Magical Britain. But you have siblings... and you're not the head of House Black..." She trailed off again thoughtfully.

"You've done your research." Narcissa said, a slight hint in her voice showing she was impressed.

"I was caught off guard once, it won't happen again."

"Are you so certain, confidence like that can blind you to what you don't want to see." Narcissa practically taunted, placing her cup gently back on the table that they sat at. "You are still young and have much to learn, you think you know what you're getting into but your knowledge is books." Narcissa spoke calmly, not attempting to be demeaning to her but she was slightly dismissive in the tone that she took.

Inwardly Elizabeth smirked, her knowledge wasn't just books anymore, it hadn't been for years. Her knowledge was forged in fire, in the conflicts of Columbia, in her workings in Rapture, she had seen the seedy underside of the world, she had seen the darkness that hid in plain sight. This was just another facet of that, but the words Narcissa spoke held a clear warning, she was still an amateur in the game that was politics and manipulation. "I'll take your words as they're intended." Elizabeth spoke just as calmly. "Another surprise I had while talking to you, the overtures to Harry, related distantly I understand but all things considering I did not expect you to want to associate with him in that regards. I assumed that you'd want to distance yourself from that connection with the assumption that he was firmly sided with Dumbledore." Elizabeth started another topic, focusing on the questions that Narcissa had asked about Harry when he was injured and Draco taking the time to make friends with Harry even when their views differed greatly.

"The meeting at Diagon Alley." Narcissa said simply, to her it had changed a lot of things that she had been ready to see as already set in stone. His diminished form, the uncertainty at which he held himself and the sheer ignorance that he had to the world that he was about to enter had struck a nerve with her. That the Last of a Noble and Ancient House like the Potters would be that ignorant and unknowing about the world around him was something that had troubled her, more than she had realised. "It changed a lot of things that I had already taken for granted when I saw him and spoke to you."

"And that set everything in motion, your plans in regards to myself and Harry, your endgame shifting as well." Elizabeth added getting a small nod from Narcissa. "It takes a strong person to admit that their plans may need to change and adapt." Elizabeth mused more to herself than anything else. Though in the back of her mind she couldn't help but add a small little jab: _Or a weak mind to cave in on and feel their plans would fail so easily._ But she didn't voice those thoughts for obvious reasons. The conversation was developing in the way that had subtle but polite jabs at each other, there was no need to be truly rude when they were learning a lot more about each other than either truly realised at the time. Elizabeth glanced around at the fields again, looking at the Abraxan and letting her mind wander a little bit, thinking about things completely unrelated to the topics at hand. Part of her wondered if she would ever find a bit of peace and quiet, away from adventure and away from drama that seemed to keep creeping into her life.

But at the same time, she wondered about something else... How bored would she be if her life was that uninteresting?

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"You have a Dragon Egg?" Harry repeated in amazement and Hagrid smiled, "Why? Actually, more important question How?" Harry questioned still unable to tear his eyes away from the egg.

"I won it."

"You won it?" Already alarm bells were going off in Harry's mind, who the heck carries a dragon egg around in their pocket to lose it in a game of some sorts.

"I won it off a chap down the pup, always wanted a dragon."

"Aren't there laws regarding this?" Harry asked in confusion Honestly, he had no idea as to whether or not there were but considering he had never heard any of the other students talking about their pet dragons he could safely assume that there was a valid reason behind that. Besides of course, the fact that they grow to be bigger than a small house, breathe fire, razor sharp claws and teeth.

The perfectly child friendly pet.

"Well... there are..." Hagrid trailed off nervously.

"It's illegal, isn't it?" Harry asked and noticed the hesitance in Hagrid's voice. "Hagrid..."

"Yes, it is, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep him forever but even for a little while." Hagrid said almost pleadingly, a man the size of a giant with the heart as caring as a child.

"Have you at least spoken to anyone about it?" Harry asked, fishing for more information.

"Not yet, you're the first, thought you'd like to see it." Hagrid replied honestly.

"Including Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked getting a shake of Hagrid's head in response, though to be honest with himself, Harry thought that Dumbledore already knew about it. There was nothing that went on in this school that He didn't know about to some extent and it probably didn't escape notice that Hagrid had checked out several books on Dragon care from the Library if the books on the counter at the side of the room were any indication to go by. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on when you added the pieces together. "You could get him in a lot of trouble for this."

That stopped Hagrid in his tracks, he didn't so much mind if he got in trouble for it but Dumbledore had helped him time and time again over the years. "They wouldn't... I got the egg, he doesn't know anything about it." Hagrid protested.

"But think about it, he's the Headmaster, everything that happens on the grounds is his responsibility." Harry quickly pointed out. "Besides there was a much smoother way you could have done this after winning the egg." Harry said, his mind racing with ideas and possibilities. Was this what Elizabeth meant when she said about being able to see anything with the power? Or was this just because he was looking at things from a different aspect than he realised. "The School has a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, what better way to keep hold of the dragon than with a lesson that could involve the students in taking care of it. It grows up surrounded by them and grows as they do. That way it will less likely see them as food." Harry paused for a moment thinking about the situation "and it could be organised as a long-time project for the students, them each doing something to help care and raise it... at least I'm pretty sure that Professor Dumbledore could arrange something like that."

"You think so?" Hagrid asked hesitantly, this had the potential to be better than he could possibly ever have thought it would be. He knew that owning a Dragon was illegal, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the dragon a secret for very long with how fast they grew. He didn't think that anyone would get in trouble other than himself but even then, it would most likely have been a fine and in all honesty, even though his house didn't show it, he had money saved away that could cover it. But thinking about it, it would have torn him up if Dumbledore had been blamed and punished for his actions. "Harry, can you keep an eye on the egg for a moment, I think I better go speak to Professor Dumbledore quickly." Hagrid said sharply and after receiving a nod in response from the boy in question, Hagrid quickly made his way out of the hut.

"Well... that went better than I thought it would." Harry said in amusement, walking over to the pile of books, and picking one of them up. "May as well know what I'm going to be looking at soon." Harry muttered as he picked up a book about Raising Dragons. "Egg varieties by breed." He muttered aloud and started flicking through the pages, trying to find the picture that closely matched the egg sitting in the fireplace... "It'd be a lot easier if the egg pictures were in colour." Harry muttered dryly looking at the egg closely before returning his attention back to the book in question trying to find similarities to it.

Time passed and Harry was still in Hagrid's awaiting the return of the giant, it had been about an hour but there was still no sign of the giant, was he getting a lecture from Dumbledore in regards to what he had done? Were they trying to sort out all the paperwork to get things rushed through? Or had there been something else that had come up that had kept him held up a little bit longer.

The door behind him opened, Harry spun around from where he was standing, instinctively stepping in front of the egg to shield it from view. Hagrid entered the hut and Harry relaxed slightly. "Hagrid, I didn't expect you to take so long." He said and Hagrid shrugged slightly as he closed the door.

"Sorry bout that Harry, Professor Dumbledore wasn't in his office." Hagrid commented, "tried to find him but he was nowhere to be found."

The words echoed in Harry's head for several moments, nowhere to be found, Dumbledore couldn't be gone... Why would he suddenly be gone? "Do you... do you know where he went?" Harry asked and Hagrid shook his head.

"Spoke to Professor McGonagall about it, apparently, he received an owl and left quickly after breakfast." Hagrid explained. "Not like him to rush but he does have a lot of jobs to take care of. Course it could be related to the problem in the forest."

"Problem in the forest?" Harry repeated in confusion, he thought with his connections to the other houses that he had started to make, he was well informed with the goings on with the School.

"I shouldn't really be talking about it, don't want word to spread around the School, but you don't seem to be the gossipy type Harry." Hagrid said confidently and Harry nodded in agreement. He talked about things but he also knew how to keep his mouth shut. "Somethings been attacking the Unicorns in the Forest. One's dead, a few have been injured but nothing to bad... I've been heading in there at nights to try and track it down but it's quick, whatever it is."

"Somethings attacking the Unicorns?"

"And not just that... I think they're feeding on the Unicorn as well." Hagrid explained sadly and that drew more confusion from Harry, they were just magical horses, weren't they?"

"I don't understand."

"A Unicorn is a creature of Purity and goodness Harry, no one should ever want to harm them, their horn and their tail hair used in potions ingredients and wands are freely given to wand makers but no one should ever want to harm them." Hagrid started to explain, taking a seat at the table. "But there's something else, their blood has healing properties, it can save you even if you're close to death, but it's a cursed life, you've killed something so innocent, so pure to save your own life, whoever has done it is planning something big." Hagrid said seriously and Harry nodded his head, another piece clicking into place.

"They're after the stone." Harry muttered, more to himself but Hagrid picked up on it.

"Now, don't you go getting involved with that Harry, it's too dangerous. Leave it to the other Professors." Hagrid said sternly.

But Harry, sitting there at the table didn't respond, he looked at the fire, the egg shifting ever so slightly every now and again as he thought about what he had been told, there was still something missing. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I need to go Hagrid." He said suddenly getting a look of confusion from the giant as he stood up, making his way to the door.

"What? but the Egg is almost ready to hatch." Hagrid responded in confusion as Harry opened the door and turned back to Hagrid with a small smile.

"I know I'll miss it but there's something I need to sort out..." He trailed off and before Hagrid could comment again he stepped through and shut the door. He made his way out of the garden area around the hut and back up to Hogwarts. There were still no classes and a lot of the students had gone home, the school was about a quarter full in total, the main group that had stayed behind were the seventh years. "School is almost empty, no Dumbledore and Hagrid gets a dragon egg." He muttered to himself as he thought about it some more making his way up to the Ravenclaw Dorm. "It's too much happening at the same time for it to be a coincidence. Somethings going on here..."

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Evening came around and Elizabeth had been escorted by Draco to the Dining Room where they would be sitting for dinner. Again, it was a situation where the table was much larger than it needed to be for the amount of people who were currently at the table, but part of Elizabeth realised that this was largely an attempt by Lucius to show off. Admittedly it was working, while the grandeur of it all was not necessary she did have to admit she felt flattered that he was doing something like this and that they were attempting to go all out with it in an attempt to sway her.

"How has your term been at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked as the first course arrived in front of them, delivered through the House Elf magic like the way the food was delivered to the plates in Hogwarts.

"It's been a... unique experience to say the least." She said, diplomatically at first, not knowing in what way to phrase the answer at first. she knew he was 'evil' at least in the views of others and that he had plans regarding Hogwarts, but she also didn't know what he was involved in and what he was planning at this point in time.

"An interesting description. I heard about the Quidditch Match with Mr Potter, he was lucky to survive that incident." Lucius commented, getting a small nod from Elizabeth in acknowledgement.

"I'm still not sure what happened both with the broom and his ability to survive the landing but I'm glad he did."

"As we all are." Lucius said with a slight nod. In the back of her mind, Elizabeth was already trying to decide whether his comment was legitimate, that the change in actions had shifted his opinion towards Harry slightly but she doubted it, no doubt he had some plans in place that his sudden death would throw into disarray. "And how is Draco's studying going?" He asked, with a slight glance towards Draco.

"Overall, he's doing well, one of the top ten in the year easily." Elizabeth complimented him and saw the slight smile that he gave, years of having schooled his reaction to be the proper Pureblood cracking to show the child underneath. "But..." She continued pointedly, the smile disappearing from Draco at this, knowing what was about to happen. "He could be doing better, he's a smart boy but doesn't put all his effort into the work." Elizabeth explained simply, not going into detail but giving enough to tell them that she had noticed his lack of action in his work and how it could be improved. A compliment then some criticism, from the look that Lucius shared with Draco, she knew the conversation would continue after dinner, away from her eyes and ears. They continued eating in silence for a little while, every now and again Elizabeth would see a glance to the side, from Lucius to Narcissa or Narcissa to Lucius, a silent conversation that she pretended not to notice going on.

"You are still relatively new to this world, aren't you?" Lucius asked, feigning curiosity, it was another question he already knew the answer to.

"I am, I'm essentially at a similar level of magical education as Draco and the other First Years." She admitted knowing that there was no point in hiding what was already common knowledge.

"Have you been paying attention to the political side of things or just working in the school?" It was blunt and to the point but Elizabeth was ready for what was about to happen. Time for him to fish for ideas.

"I admit I'm probably not as knowledgeable as I could be on the subjects but I have been keeping up with the reports in the Daily Prophet."

"The Prophet? a rag that prints whatever the paying opinion wants." Lucius muttered in disdain and Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at that. He held a dislike for something knowing full well that it was something that he could easily take advantage of it if he wanted too. Was it a ploy or was it the truth?

"Even so, there were a few bits that can be learnt from it." Elizabeth pointed out getting a nod of approval from Narcissa. "I know there is going to be a vote soon on the Magical Creature Employment Act soon." Elizabeth explained getting another small nod.

"And your thoughts on it?"

"Anyone who votes to let it pass in the shape it's in..." She paused, wondering whether to go with the blunt or tactful approach. "Anyone who votes it through is an idiot, plain and simple." She said getting looks of surprise from the three others at the table, along with a small snort of amusement from Draco who did his best to try and cover it up.

"And how do you come to that conclusion?" Lucius asked after several moments of stunned silence.

"Financially or socially?" Elizabeth asked slightly sarcastically. "From what I've read about Werewolves, both magical and legends about them in the muggle world, they're stronger than the average person when in human form with the only downside being run down after the full moon? Am I correct?" She asked and saw a small nod from Narcissa before she continued. "Now take what you have there a stronger workforce physically with the addition of magic and you have a potential work base that is currently neglected and in some aspects starved for acceptance." Elizabeth explained with a calm gesture. "The policy in action would alienate them, push them towards lashing out at being marginalized and isolated, society cannot survive if they remove aspects of it. Because if you remove them, who are the next to be blamed for things? who is chosen next for the restrictive regulations?" Elizabeth asked, pausing again at the look of intrigue that crossed Lucius's face. "You have a chance here to shape things and gain a potentially fanatically loyal workforce."

Here it was, her gambit, If the Werewolves were forced to be outsiders, unable to get work from any sources in the magical world they'd grow to become resentful, it would make it easier for them to tempt them to join Voldemort in that situation as all he would have to do is make a few simple promises to give them a better life then they could possibly have and then they would be left with only one option to take. This one however, this option gave them several windows of opportunity in which to take advantage of. If they could get employment, even if the pay wasn't the same level as a Pureblood or a Halfblood would get it would still be more acceptable than if they had nothing, it was a stepping stone for them to potentially get to where they wanted to be and it would be up to the employer to give them that to gain their effectiveness in both work and loyalty outside of it. This ran the risk of Lucius taking the ball and running with it, making himself look like the true saviour to the Werewolves in an attempt to rally them around him to form his own power base but it was a risk worth taking. "The other families wouldn't agree to it." Narcissa commented, the brief conversation that they had in regards to this earlier already allowing her to guide the conversation slightly as Lucius listened, his mind ticking away with the formation of a plan.

"How could they not? A strong Labour force for them to use?" Elizabeth asked bluntly.

"Do you know how the rich, stay rich?" Narcissa asked Elizabeth who slowly shook her head, the obvious answer had been to say through their investments and work that they do but she already assumed that isn't what Narcissa was going for "They don't like to spend money. The majority of the Noble family's wealth comes from old money, Family money that has built up over generations, why would they willingly advocate a policy that would mean they spend more money on people when they can cut them off?" Narcissa asked simply.

"It's a stepping stone." Elizabeth started and Lucius cut her off.

"A stepping stone, not blocking their way into the work but not showing equality either." He said with a thoughtful look, missing Elizabeth frowning at the blatant comment on segregation in the work force. "Something that could be fixed over time though, we start with allowing them to work, albeit at a reduced rate than the others but it's a start, tempt the families with a cheaper labour force and then over time increase the pay."

Lucius smiled, he could work with this, no one, light or dark truly wanted the Werewolves around, they were dangerous and a risk to all who would be involved but at the same time, the Light Side would not be keen to reject a policy that could be the start of unity amongst the people of the wizarding world. And through it all, he would be seen as a champion of the downtrodden. A fix to his shady image and the potential power base in which he could start his own agenda.

With the look on Lucius's face, Elizabeth was suddenly not so sure of herself or her plan.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Harry what's going on, you've been lost in thought all afternoon and haven't spoken to anyone." Susan questioned, taking a seat opposite him in the library. Ever since he had come back from Hagrid's in the morning he had entered the library and not come out. Albeit that wasn't completely unusual for him but he had barely spoken two words to the others that he normally spoke to. Even now he hadn't looked up from the bit of parchment that he was scribbling something on. "Harry," Susan called again, leaning forward to look at him. "Harry." She said again, a bit more forcefully reaching over and grabbing his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"He's going to try to steal the stone!" Harry suddenly called out looking up in surprise at Susan. "What? Susan, how long have you been there?" Harry asked in confusion, looking around at where he was. "When did I come here?" He asked, looking down at his notes. "That's right... I was at Hagrid's, he said something and I just couldn't think of the final piece of the puzzle." Harry muttered to himself getting a confused look from Susan.

"Harry, you're not talking any sense, what's going on?"

"Hagrid received an egg from a person at the pub, apparently, he won it in a card game..." He paused for a moment, wondering how to not throw Hagrid under the bus so to speak with the Niece of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement before deciding to just roll with it, they could cross that bridge when they came to it. "That wasn't the only thing that worried me though, it was something else that Hagrid said, about something attacking the Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest." He paused as he looked down at some of the things he had written in his half-puzzled daze. "They're not just attacking the Unicorns but apparently, they're also drinking their blood." Harry explained to her.

Susan gasped, not just at the monstrous actions of attacking a Unicorn but drinking their blood? Even vampires wouldn't stoop so low to attack Unicorns like that even in the blood frenzy if they hadn't fed in a long time... Mainly because it would kill them instantly but the comparison worked in her mind. "And now Dumbledore is gone, he's not expected to be back for a couple of days." Harry started shuffling the papers away into his bag at a hurry, grabbing another piece of blank parchment and grabbing his quill to write a note, cursing as he saw its broken state. "Too many coincidences, maybe I'm being paranoid and looking for something but don't you see the connections?" He asked Susan who stared at him in confusion, her mind also trying to place the pieces together. Unicorns being attacked and killed in the forest, their blood being drained. Dumbledore called away for a Wizengamot session, the only reason she knew that is where he had gone was because her Aunt was there as well. A trial in a murder case was happening and as Chief Warlock he had to preside over it. It was expected to last several days as all the evidence was being brought forwards. Then there was Hagrid receiving something in a card game, that alone wouldn't be suspicious but the way both Harry avoided saying what it was and combined with Dumbledore departing and now the Unicorn Attacks. Too many coincidences that could only lead to one thing.

"They're going to make a move on the stone?" Susan asked though it was less of a question more of a confirmation to what she had concluded. He nodded his head as he scribbled a note down on the parchment that he had in front of him. I need to call Auntie." Susan muttered to herself. "But I can't... she's one of the judges their secluded during the trial, to prevent outside tampering..." She trailed off again, cursing her luck. "Who can we tell?"

"I'm going to speak to Professor Babbling, then I'm going to go to the Owlery and send this off to Elizabeth." Harry said as he folded the parchment, slipping it into his pocket. "Then I don't know, I think I'm going to keep an eye on the Third-Floor Corridor." Harry muttered in resignation. "I had no intention of going there after I found out what was in there." Harry muttered in frustration.

"You found out what was in there?" Susan asked, over the last couple of weeks she had been distracted and hadn't had the chance to keep up with the little study group they had going and so hadn't been kept in the loop in regards to the mystery going on.

"Didn't I tell you?" Harry asked in confusion as he racked his brain, he could have sworn he did. He shook his head letting out a sigh as he removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I could have sworn I did. I found out what was in there, there's a series of traps that lead to the item. It's the Philosophers Stone."

Susan knew what the stone was, her aunt had even spoken to the Flamels several years back after information had come up about a potential plot to steal the stone but they had dismissed the concern shown. They had everything under control they had said. There was nothing to fear in regards to the stone it was perfectly protected and there was no way that anyone could steal it.

So why was it here?

She tried to think of a reason, several came to mind but each time they were equally outlandish Surely, they wouldn't just give up the stone to be placed in a School, yes Hogwarts was praised as one of the safest places in the world but even if that was the case why wouldn't they have done it before when there was a previous attempt on it. "It doesn't make sense." She said in exasperation.

"What?"

"It doesn't make sense, why is the stone here?" Susan asked him and Harry shrugged, sure he knew what the other Dumbledore had said about the stone being here, but he couldn't exactly say that was the reason without going into more details. "They've protected it for hundreds of years, why would they suddenly decide to give it away to be protected now?" She asked and he frowned, it did make sense. Why would they give away their source of immortality? Even more so why would they give it away at the risk of losing it for bait in a trap? To them, with their long lives Voldemort would be a footnote surely? Another grain of sand in the hourglass that passes by? At least that's how he'd picture it.

Perhaps something had changed? "It doesn't matter now, someone is going to try and steal what they believe is the stone, that means they're going to possibly be a threat to other Students and Staff, it'd be wrong to do nothing." Harry explained and Susan after a moment nodded her head.

"You can't send the letter to Elizabeth." Susan said, catching him off guard and drawing another look of confusion from Harry. "She's at the Malfoy Manor, isn't she? Do you want them to know what is going on? That the Stone is here? That Dumbledore put students at risk by putting it here? Though I think Auntie is going to have some words with him when she hears about this." She deadpanned and Harry frowned. "I know Draco has been helping us but think about it, his father was involved with the Dark Lord and the circumstances that cleared him were suspicious at best. Do you want to take the risk that a potential follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could swoop in and steal the stone?"

Frowning, Harry nodded his head in understanding, "fine I won't send the letter to her." Harry agreed, taking it out and tapping it with his wand, the piece of parchment turning to ash in seconds. "But we still need to inform the other professors." He explained before smiling, "I can't believe I didn't think of Professor Flitwick." He said more with disappointment at himself at overlooking his head of house but he knew that he would listen if Harry spoke.

"You find Professor Babbling and Professor Flitwick, I'll tell Professor Sprout and if I see Professor McGonagall I'll tell her." Three of the Four House Heads would be good enough to get the ball rolling to protect the stone. "I'll meet you back here, if we see any of our group, tell them to meet here." She said adding the instruction to Harry who nodded his head in understanding, they had all been involved in some form and they'd probably be offended if they had been left out. They calmly walked out of the Library so as not to draw attention before quickly separating, heading in different directions, Harry towards the Charms Classroom and Flitwick's Office and Susan heading in the direction of the Greenhouses where Professor Sprout tended to spend much of her time.

Darting through the corridors, he ducked past a couple of students and almost barrelled over Blaize... who he probably could have avoided but was feeling slightly petty towards the Slytherin at this time before hitting the stairs, taking them two at a time. He exited onto the next floor and ran down the corridor, ignoring many a portraits attempt to get him to slow down with their complaints. Turning the corner, he jumped, narrowly missing Mrs Norris, the cat meowing in aggravation as Harry skidded to a halt, took a moment to catch his breath and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Harry pushed open the door and stepped in, letting it shut behind him as he looks at Professor Flitwick. "Professor, I have something important to tell you." Harry started seriously and Flitwick, who had been catching up on a bit of paperwork looked up at him before gesturing to a chair for Harry to take a seat.

"What's wrong Mr Potter?"

"Someone is going to try and steal the Philosophers Stone." He said simply and Flitwick looked at him in shock, not expecting that to be which he spoke about. "I know I shouldn't know about it but I do and there's things going on that just point to someone making an attempt on it and very soon." Harry said trying to make sure Flitwick would listen to him.

"I think you need to start from the beginning." Flitwick said with all traces of joking and cheerfulness replaced by a level of seriousness that Harry had never witnessed from the man before.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Isn't it interesting."

"Isn't what interesting?"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same. New house, different social circles, different attitude and yet things are playing out so similar as to what they were before."

"Interesting but not completely unpredictable, it takes time for changes to truly take effect, like ripples in the water after a stone is thrown in, they start small but eventually increase in size. Somehow I think we have only just begun to see the changes that are yet to come."

TBC

Chapter 16 all done and dusted. I'm most probably going to come back to this one at a later date and tidy it up. Some of the chapter still doesn't feel right.

The idea i have in regards to Lucius and the Non Human angle thats going here is that he's balancing both his reputation and his role to form a force that would be loyal to him over loyalty to Voldemort. With the way it originally went, the Werewolfs and others were persecuted for being what they were which led them towards Voldemort who while evil and spouting the Pureblood philosophy was also turning around to Werewolfs and going "yep, do what i say and you'll get a better deal." which we all know he was essentially going to throw out the window at the first opportunity after he had full control. In this situation, Narcissa knows what will happen if Voldemort comes to full power, albeit only one of the variations but she's been led to believe that it is what will happen if he wins so she's working and guiding Lucius to take a different angle on it.

More of this will be developed in later chapters... and this brings me on to my next point

I'm going to be honest with you guys and girls, I still haven't started Chapter 17. The joy of covering work shifts and ordinary shifts in general, I've been working every day for the past eleven days and I've pretty much been dead on my feet.

But, my goal is still to get the next chapter out for next Saturday, though it may end up getting pushed back a bit depending on how things go. If I'm not going to make it in time I'll update my profile to let people know.


	17. Chapter 17: What Needs to be Done

**Chapter 17: What needs to be Done**

 _Disclaimer: This is the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends, it includes lyrics that point out that I do not own Bioshock or Harry Potter._

Flitwick listened to what he said, he didn't dismiss it out of hand as he explained the evidence that he came forward with and Harry did realise how lucky he had been for the professor to take more attention to what he was saying. In another time, he wasn't so lucky, McGonagall had dismissed his concerns in regards to the stone and had threatened punishment for attempting to do what was right. Now though, he just sat in thoughtful silence as Harry finished retelling the shortened version of what was going on, having left out just how he had discovered what was in the Third-Floor Corridor. Well less the dog but more that he knew what was in the rest of the rooms. Everyone knew about the Dog; the professors knew that the students knew and that it worked as a deterrence for the majority of them.

The removal of the books to the Restricted Section for the year that the stone was here had also stopped people for just looking to find ways to get past the Cerberus as well. At least, as far as Flitwick was aware, the book was in the Restricted Section, Dumbledore had removed the books to his personal Library for temporary safekeeping, the only ones able to access the room that the books were held in were the Headmaster and his Deputy. No information meant they were highly unlikely to get by the dog and the Cerberus was not on the syllabus for Care of Magical Creatures so there would be no way around asking the professors under the guise of coursework. To do so would tip their hand and let the Professors know that they had been around the Forbidden Corridor. Of course, the information was still out there, a few had written home to parents and had learnt how to deal with the dog but after that they didn't pursue as much as they could, one thing that had become abundantly clear was that the information was good enough for the majority. They had been more distracted by the Dog and hadn't noticed the trap door that it guarded.

But here Harry was, information that painted the picture that the Stone would be in danger. Flitwick waited in silence, thoughts darting across his mind as he tried to think on how to move now. No doubt the person would strike, with Professor Dumbledore out of the way, the stone would be at its most 'vulnerable' at this point.

"I don't know who it is that's going to make the attempt," Harry explained though his tone said more to Flitwick than he probably realised. Harry had an idea as to who it was but wasn't completely sure about it. With that he was playing at being evasive, but even a hint could possibly be useful to Flitwick and the others to plan to counter the theft.

"Who do you think it is Harry?" Flitwick asked calmly and Harrys head snapped up, looking at Flitwick intently, now seeing that he saw through the slight deception.

"I believe it's Voldemort..." Harry said slowly, Flitwick flinched but didn't say anything else, another look of deep thought crossing the diminutive professor's features.

 _'could it possibly be him? Dumbledore has said that he didn't think he was dead, that he was weakened that night. The stone would be worth the risk for him if that was true... but how would Harry know it was him?'_ Flitwick sat pensively trying to work it out, no doubt Harry would want to keep the information quiet, he had no doubt that somehow Elizabeth was involved in this but she wasn't here to ask. "How do you know it's him?"

"Something Professor Dumbledore said, beyond that I can't say." Harry said with a steel in his voice that showed he wouldn't betray the information that he had be given. A noble trait to say the least.

"Then I won't ask further in that regards." Flitwick conceded, making a mental note to speak to Elizabeth when she returned. "Have you told anyone else this information?" He questioned again and Harry answered.

"Susan Bones, she's gone to speak to Professor Sprout." Harry explained and Flitwick nodded again. "She wanted to contact her Aunt but said something about her being out of contact." Harry explained getting a small smile from Flitwick.

"Clever and quick witted young Miss Bones is. Mr Potter, I need you to return to your common room. No doubt he will try and steal the stone this evening as it's the only guaranteed day that Professor Dumbledore will be gone. I want you to return to your dorm and if you come across anyone else, subtly tell them to return as well." Flitwick said as he stood up, walking over to the fireplace in his office and grabbing a handful of what looked to be dust, throwing it into the flames. "Professor McGonagall." He called as the flames turned green. Harry sat in shock, not knowing what Flitwick was doing and was even more surprised as a head started to appear in the fire.

"Yes Filius?" the distinctive sound of McGonagall came through the fireplace.

"I need you to come to my office, there's something important I have to speak to you about."

"Is everything okay?" She questioned curiously.

"Potentially not, I'm still waiting to find out but it is something that concerns us all."

"Very well, I will be there soon." She finished and her face disappeared from the fireplace. Flitwick turned back to Harry.

"Thank you again for bringing this to my attention, now I ask you to leave it in our hands, I assure you we'll keep the stone safe from whoever is attempting to steal it." Flitwick said, confidence in his voice as Harry stood up, pausing for a moment to dust off his clothing. "Please return to your Common Room Harry, I'll have Professor Sprout do the same with Susan."

"Of course, Professor." Harry agreed as he was led out of the office.

"Your mother would be proud of you Harry for bringing this to me instead of trying to confront the thief on your own." Flitwick added and Harry turned back to look at him. "She would have attempted to speak to one of us and leave it in our hands if the situation required it but she also liked to investigate things herself... there's a story I want to tell you at a later date, I think you'll like it." Flitwick said with another smile and Harry found himself nodding almost eagerly. He didn't know much about his parents and stories like this were things that he was eager to get a hold of, for the history of both of his parents.

Flitwick closed the door and Harry turned, not in the direction of the Common Room but towards the Library, he had a feeling that even if Professor Sprout did order Susan back to the dorm she would also detour to the Library. He pushed open the doors walking into the Library, looking around for her, walking between the bookcases looking out for her. He was tempted to call out for her but he didn't want to get thrown out by Madam Pince, the woman could be scary when anyone disturbed the silence of her library. Slowly, he made his way back to the area the group normally sat and found the table to be empty. He sighed, realising that Susan was probably not yet finished with Professor Sprout and let his bag slip off his shoulder, dropping to the floor with a dull thud. Pulling out a chair he sat down, folding his arms, and letting his head rest on them for a moment as he tried to calm himself, the anticipation for what was about to happen starting to get to him.

"The professors will stop the theft attempt, but this person, if it is him... surely he'd outclass professors in a fight." Harry muttered to himself, taking another deep breath as he tried to come up with a plan just in case it backfired and he got past the professors. The only thing that he could think of was to either go now while the professors were still rallying to sort out what they were going to do and steal the stone ahead of them, to keep it out of the way but that was stupid. Why paint a giant bullseye on his back when there was one already there through the circumstances of who he was instead of working more subtly.

There was also the potential to set things up with his _other_ ability. The tears and rifts. he had started to see them as Elizabeth thought he would and she had said they would be there for him to access at any time but he was also to keep them a secret from others, somehow, he didn't think that summoning things from different timelines would go over too well. But what good would this power be if he never used it, what was the point of him having it if he couldn't use it to help others. It was something that had quietly bugged him since he had been told to keep it secret. He knew the logic behind it, a power like this to go anywhere, to anytime would be a goldmine for those who wanted power but...

He stopped the thoughts, if push came to shove he'd use the powers to stop the thief, he'd just have to try and do it in a way that wouldn't alert the professors as to what happened. Easier said than done really...

Movement amongst the library stacks caught his attention, the footsteps in the otherwise quiet room drawing his attention as he lifted his head to see Susan walking towards the table. "How did it go?" He asked her as she sat down, still looking slightly on edge, watching the shadows as if the thief could jump out at any time.

"Professor Sprout listened to what I said, she didn't seem convinced that I knew what I was talking about but she said she would speak to the others about it regardless." Susan explained and Harry nodded his head in understanding.

"Professor Flitwick listened as well and even if he didn't believe me he didn't say anything only promising that he'd take it seriously. When I left, he was informing Professor McGonagall. Though I don't know how much it's going to do even with them there."

"Harry, they're the best in their area of study, why do you think they're not going to do too well?"

"Because they're teachers not Police." Harry responded and Susan went to respond but stopped, conceding the point.

"I think you'd be surprised with Professor Flitwick though." She said and Harry looked at her in confusion. "He was a professional Duellist, won a couple of championships back in the day." She explained and Harry now found himself thinking of Flitwick in a new light, he respected the smaller teacher a lot but he had underestimated him and what he was apparently capable of. "The thief would have to be very good or very crazy to duel with him. "But they don't have any clue as to when the thief is going to strike."

"It'll be this evening, when the students who stayed here are asleep... Hagrid couldn't have had that egg for long and no doubt it was used to distract him... to learn something." He trailed off, sighing, and rubbing the bridge of his nose, still trying to find the last few pieces of the puzzle. "Fluffy..." Harry muttered thoughtfully, it all came back to pets.

"What about Fluffy?" Susan asked in confusion though realisation was slowly dawning on her features.

"It all comes back to the dog, it belongs to Hagrid, no doubt they were trying to get past him and they couldn't work out how. It's no secret that Hagrid likes dangerous animals so the egg was probably bait for him to give out information."

"We could ask him?" Susan suggested.

"No, Hagrid's a bit more interested in the egg at the moment, we'll work under the impression that he has told him." Harry dismisses the idea of going to Hagrid's if only to protect the giant of a man from Susan's Aunt. Plausible Deniability was a powerful thing. "The professors will guard the entrance, most probably hidden somewhere, they won't want to tip off the fact that they know someone is after the stone until the person makes the move."

"So, what do we do?"

"No clue, I'm making it up as I go along..."

They were cut off from continuing the conversation as a shout of surprise mixed with fear echoed through the library. At first, they thought it was another student but when the usual demands for quiet from Madam Pince didn't come both looked at the other with confusion, slowly getting up from their seats and making their way towards the scene. Both gripped their wands in anticipation, not that they knew much in the way of offensive spells but they were ready to do what needed to be done if there was some form of trouble ahead. Turning the corner Harry and Susan stopped, Madam Pince was standing there staring at the aisle looking in shock, in between the stacks Harry saw something that he didn't think anyone else could see.

A rift was partially open, through it he could see the library but it was burning, the other side able to be seen but from the looks of it, not pulled through but why could they see it? He glanced to his side to see the confused fear on Susan's face and a look to Madam Pince saw an equivalent level of confusion but not fear. Seeing as how the attention wasn't on him, he stepped backwards away from the two and turned, quickly making an escape hoping that the tear would distract them. "Talk to Professor Babbling..." He muttered to himself, Elizabeth had probably mentioned something about this to her so perhaps she'd have some clue as to what was going on.

Making his way up through the Castle his thoughts kept drifting away from the rift and back to the thief. What would be the best way in? what would be the quickest route? which way would they try to flee? There were secret passages across the Castle, ones that led up to the tallest of towers and ones that led to the deepest parts of the dungeons but that left the question. Were there any that led out of the castle itself? He walked past a couple of Gryffindor students, he didn't know what year they were nor was he going to ask but they looked at him as he passed by, possibly curious as to what he was doing up here as the first years didn't have any classes this high up in the school, they knew there were no classes but at the same time, it was uncommon for a Ravenclaw first year to be up here. Harry snorted in amusement as he rounded the corner. They couldn't have been paying that much attention to him over the year, he had spent numerous afternoons up here talking to Bathsheda and Elizabeth. He shook his head, bringing his attention back to the important topic.

Rifts that weren't in use were visible to others, how was that even possible? she hadn't mentioned anything like that happening.

"What do you think it is?" A female voice asked and Harry froze as he came to the corner, stopping, and looking around the edge at whoever it was that had spoken. Another Gryffindor student, one he recognised, Katie Bell a chaser for their team stood with the other two chasers looking at another tear that had appeared. They were a bit calmer about it than Madam Pince had been but that was to be expected considering she had seen the library that she cared for and maintained burning, here, he couldn't notice anything discernibly different at a glance but without being closer to peer through it, there could be nothing there at all.

"Do you see that?" Alicia Spinnet questioned and Harry frowned, wanting to get a closer look but at the same time remain hidden in case he accidentally caused it to open properly.

"There's people there." Angelina added and as they moved to look past the tear into the corridor seeing no one, Harry looked to see robed figures wearing what looked to be masks walking down the hallway in the rift. This had the potential to turn bad. Could the people on the other side of the rift see it or were they oblivious to it? Too many questions, not enough answers.

"Wait a minute. That mask!" Katie spoke, fear clutching at her as she grabbed her friends and pulled them away. "We need to go, now." She spoke attempting to forcibly pull the two away from the rift. Harry pulled back, ducking into a doorway as the three left quickly and let out a sigh as they passed by, unaware that he was even there. He walked around the corner again, looking to where the tear had been but it was now gone, shut away by whatever determined it be open in the first place.

"What did she see? What was the relevance? I don't understand why she was so scared." Harry muttered, again rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache starting to form. He pushed on, round the final corner and stopped at the office of Bathsheda Babbling, knocking on the door, and waiting for a response.

Nothing.

He tried again, a bit more forcefully but still no reply.

"She's not in at the moment." The portrait behind him spoke up startling Harry. He spun around to see the picture of a Wizard holding up an apple, studying it carefully for some reason that he didn't want to know about right now.

"Do you know where she's gone, it's an emergency?"

"Everything is an emergency with you young ones now a day, she left about an hour ago, another student needed her help with something, they seemed in a right state." The portrait said dismissively as if the student's actions were nothing outside the norm and Harry resisted the urge to curse.

"Thanks for letting me know." Harry replied politely as he walked away. Now unsure as to who to speak to, Elizabeth was not an option being completely out of contact, Bathsheda was somewhere and the only other person who had any clue as to this ability was Dumbledore and he was out of contact as well. That left no one.

Unless...

He stopped at a door to a classroom and opened it up, walking into the room and closing it behind him. Two possible options now. One, he opens a rift to Elizabeth, hoping beyond all hope it didn't set off any wards or protections that the Malfoy family had set in place. Or Two... the two people that Elizabeth had spoken about, the Lutece Twins.

 _Tap tap tap_

He heard something at the back of the room and turned, there the two that must have been the Lutece twins were, one, a woman standing at the black board with a ruler in hand pointing at some age-old writing that had been on there the other a man sitting at a desk looking at the writing as he seemed to be taking notes down on a piece of parchment.

"It's happening a lot faster than I anticipated." the woman spoke up.

"His understanding or the tears?"

"Both. He is quick to learn and quick to decide on how to use them even if he doesn't truly understand it yet. The Tears forming though are something I did not predict appearing just yet."

"How long were you off?"

"Two months, but it has happened and as such we'll need to explain before he accidentally pulls something through."

"You know what's going on?" Harry asked, stepping forwards but then stopping.

"Of course, a tear is a hole in time and space, your powers allow you to bend reality to an extent but nothing is free with these powers, every use makes the barriers between slightly weaker." Rosalind begun explaining.

"Like clothing torn, when sown together they are fixed but weaker still, the fabric holding them together just not as effective as they were before."

"Is this dangerous?"

"Doubtful, for years the tears would open in Columbia and people were unable to access them outside of a few sights and sounds, though there is something different here in comparison."

"What would that be?" Harry asked hesitantly but part of him already knew where they were going to go with this.

"Magic, it's an unknown to us and so we don't know if a way can be used to open them through magic. If it can then there is a potential problem. Hmm, isn't it strange." Rosalind spoke, changing the topic immediately causing looks of confusion on both Robert and Harry. "You would think that with how dangerous magic can be there would be more of an effort to teach more effective safety measures." She said giving a glance around the room, Harry followed her vision trying to see what had caught her attention but didn't see anything jump out at him, he glanced back to the front of the classroom and stared in shock.

They were gone again.

But it answered a question he had, were the tears something that he needed to focus on at the moment, with them being sealed shut except through his or Elizabeth's abilities it could be put to one side for now. Back to the thing at hand. The thief, whoever it was, whether it was Voldemort or someone else entirely. Now he just had to wait and see what they would do and how to act in response.

Who knows, with the tears starting to appear around the castle maybe he could pull something to fight him if necessary. He stopped his walk again, smiling to himself as he did. Now that had some potential. He turned back the way he came, making his way to the Owlery, he couldn't send a note to Elizabeth with all the details but perhaps he could give her enough of a clue to get her to come back if she felt there was a need.

A simple note. One that clued her in while still being vague enough to not really mean anything more than what was written. Something simple like "Dear Elizabeth I've heard some people talking about possibly breaking into your room to steal your necklace."

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Night fell and Harry was hidden in the School Grounds under his invisibility cloak, if there were any secret Passages out that the person would use they'd probably lead out onto the Grounds and here he could keep an eye on any movement and possibly move to stop it if need be. keeping an ear out for anything going on, his mind wandered slightly, a bit of guilt gnawing at the back of his mind, he felt slightly bad about never returning to Susan after he had ditched her in his failed attempt to find professor Babbling but dismissed the feeling of guilt.

It was better if she wasn't involved in this situation. It was too risky for her to be out here. Okay that was a slight lie, it was less the risk to her and more the want to keep the Tears and that he could use them secret for as long as possible. Not that the secret would last much longer if he had to get involved in the situation. Flashes of light drew his attention, snapping his thoughts back into focus, they were up on the higher level and he could tell it was spell work in action. Did they wait for him to enter or did they try and strike before he could fully make his move? It wouldn't make sense to let him go for the stone if they could avoid it, why take the risk that he could get away with it if they failed to stop him, whereas they could put the pressure on him here and now.

A window shattered, glass falling to the ground and Harry shifted his position looking around, gripping his wand, not that it would do much good against this person, no doubt they'd have a magical advantage over him if it came to a fight but he had to do it. There was shouting, flashes of different colour lights that must have been a whole variety of spells. Did spells intermingling change colour and effect? again, tangents that he didn't need to come to mind were drawing his attention away. The waiting was killing him, watching the windows he could see the spells starting to shift across the castle, moving down through the buildings.

Almost as fast as he had noticed it the spell fire vanished. Harry frowned, wondering what this could mean. Had the thief got away from them? had the thief beaten them? He didn't know but he would find out.

 _'There'_

Movement at the Main Entrance, a figure staggering slightly, making their way from the castle as quickly as they apparently could. Harry frowned, walking forwards, his cloak still wrapped tightly around him. This had to have been the thief. He moved closer, making sure to move as quietly as possible.

Years of avoiding Dudley had proved effective in that...

As he got closer he started to pick out the details, the man was bald, his robes torn and tattered from the conflict that he had just been in and from the looks of it, he was already exhausted from what he had done, shaking with each staggering step he took.

Harry cringed, a sharp jolt passing through his head, originating from his scar.

The man froze, looking around.

"Potter..." He hissed, the sound cold and almost ethereal. "I know you are there... Show yourself." The man ordered and Harry grinned as the man looked around but something in his actions didn't add up when he looked around, it was like his eyes weren't actually looking at anything as he did.

He wasn't going to reveal himself to the man, he had no intention of purposely putting himself in danger. he stepped back, looking around, feeling out with the ability that he had started to learn... _'Think what you want to appear and pull it through, '_ Harry thought to himself and a flash of light drew both their attentions.

"Be vigilant, citizens of Columbia! For liberty, once lost, is lost forever!" A new voice spoke up and Harry turned to where the rift had been and stared in confusion... that hadn't been what he wanted. the thief looked at it unsure as to what it was.

Ahead of them both stood something larger than a man but smaller than Hagrid, he stood holding something that Harry couldn't identify and had two flags attached to its back as it stood there in a military uniform of some description.

"Master what is this?" The thief asked in confusion as it raised the item it held pointing it at the cloaked thief.

"Get out of the way you fool!" The ethereal voice cried out as a whirring sound started, the things hand turning a crank. It was at this point that Harry realised it was a gun that the thing was holding and quickly jumped out the way, diving away from where the thief had been standing.

Bullets started firing peppering the area where the thief had been moments before, kicking up chunks of dirt and grass "My aim is true, as my eye is the Prophet's." the thing called out in its mechanical voice as it continued to fire at the thief, walking after him with barely a concern as they struggled to stay out of the sights of the weapon.

"Kill it you fool!"

"Avada Kedavra!" The figure shouted, a sickly green light flashing from his wand at the mechanical man, staggering it, its face shattering revealing a skeletal metal and wooden frame underneath.

"How can we escape if we refuse salvation?" The mechanised man called out almost mockingly as it continued its attack barely phased by the attack upon it.

"Destroy it now!" The more ethereal voice called out and Harry still struggled to focus on it, pain tingling from his scar as he watched, the other shouted something, drowned out under the gunfire and the head of the machine exploded this time, sparks flying everywhere as it staggered, dropping its weapon, and falling to the ground. "Impressive Potter, that is impressive magic for one so young. You've been holding back in lessons." The voice taunted and Harry gasped, another wave of pain passing through his head.

"Accio Harry Potter." The thief called out and Harry found himself being pulled forcefully from under his cloak straight to the man in question. Just before he would have collided, he stopped, floating in mid-air.

"Professor Quirrel?" Harry said, confused at the revelation, of all the people that had crossed his mind throughout the year to be anything suspicious or dangerous, Quirrel wasn't there, the man that stuttered so badly and was seemingly afraid of his own shadow? Not who Harry pegged as the thief.

"Surprised? Did you expect to find someone else? Professor Snape perhaps?"

"Not him, the attempt wasn't subtle enough for him." Harry responded through gritted teeth as the pain in his scar seemed to increase as the attention was focused on him.

"No, even with his lack of tact when teaching, credit where it is due, he is one for subtlety." Quirrel agreed before frowning. "Though the fact you are out here means that you knew I was going to attempt to take the stone. You tipped the others off."

"You overplayed your hand." Harry said, remembering a card game reference he had heard in a TV show during one of the few evenings he hadn't been forced to remain locked away in the cupboard. "Giving Hagrid a Dragon Egg like you did? Knowing full well that he would more than happily talk about whatever he could to try and make sure the person he was gambling against knew he could handle it. The injuries to the Unicorns, a half-life." He paused as the pain flared up and he closed his eyes gritting his teeth. "And Dumbledore gone... Too many clues that gave you away... but it wasn't you I expected." Harry hissed out as the pain increased again.

"Oh, who did you expect."

"Voldemort."

"Don't say the Lords names!" Quirrel snapped holding his wand dangerously.

"Quirrel... let me speak to him." the voice came, from Quirrel but he never moved his lips to say it.

"Master? you are not strong enough for this, especially after the duel in the school."

"Quiet you fool, I am strong enough for this."

"Y...yes master!" Quirrel simpered slightly, wincing as if stung by something as he turned around.

"Oh... what have you done?" Harry whispered horrified as he looked at the face protruding from the back of Quirrels head.

"Do you see what I have become because of you Potter? A shadow of my true self."

"A parasite you mean." Harry taunted foolishly, though at the same time he was hoping he could keep this distraction going long enough for someone to get here... a shred of dread ran down his spine, Quirrel seemed less in a rush and more leaving because he was injured before Harry had stepped in. Were the others dead? Or were they just incapacitated somehow.

"Yes, forced to live like this, all because of the spell backfiring when I tried to kill you all those years ago, With the stone I could restore my body, there are many things I could do with the stone, things others would not dream to do."

"Like enslave everyone to your will?" Harry questioned mockingly. "Are you a comic book villain or something? The lines you spout are so cliché!" Harry continued to taunt with a braveness that he really wasn't sure where it came from in this situation and if it was truly how he felt. "What's next? You're going to ask me to join you even after you killed my parents."

"No, I wouldn't give that choice, you're too much like your father, arrogant and outspoken, not knowing there is a time and a place for the pathetic attempt at wit." Voldemort mocked in retaliation and Harry glared, finding words stolen away from him at that moment, "Your father died and brought you little time, time that I believe has just... run... out." Voldemort finished and Quirrel turned around so that he could aim his wand properly, raising it to point at Harry's head.

 _'It's not going to end like this.'_ Harry chided himself as the wand tip was in between his eyes. _'Not like this!'_ He mentally cried out and lashed out, another flash of light behind Quirrel followed by an angry mechanical pained cry. Quirrel froze in his action turning away from Harry looking up at the large machine of a man that stood in a tattered suit, thick cables ran along its body feeding into something on its back as it reached down and grabbed Quirrel, hurling him away.

"Stop moving! Every sound hurts!" It cried out as Quirrel hit the floor hard, skidding across the grass and dirt. The wizard struggled to pull himself back to his feet as the machine moved over towards him. "The gears are grinding my skin!" it cried out in pain as it moved and Harry felt slightly nauseous at that, realisation dawning quickly that the machine in question had once been a man and now had been turned into this. What made him? how could anyone come up with something like this? The man swung at Quirrel, fists almost the size of Quirrels upper body slamming down into the ground where the professor had been seconds before, just barely missing him Quirrel, showing why he had been the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher aimed his wand quickly, firing spell after spell but little seemed to have an effect on the machine, "Gonna make you feel what I feel." It cried out and leapt with surprising agility barrelling Quirrel over again, the professor crying out in pain and shock from the force of the blow.

as Quirrel pulled himself back to his feet Voldemort spoke up. "Aim for its chest! You can see its heart you fool!" Voldemort snapped and Quirrel took aim.

"Comstock took my body! Wasn't even sick!" It cried out and moved to attack again. Harry had gained mobility again and could put a bit of distance between the fight, moving back to his invisibility cloak and quickly stashing it away, knowing he could be pulled out from under it, he didn't want to risk it being damaged. He turned back as a loud bang echoed through the night, he looked in awe as the machine fell, clutching where a hole had been punched clear through its chest. "My heart feels like a block of ice… heavy…" it muttered before falling forwards, hitting the floor with another loud crash.

"These toys you have are impressive Potter, how are you able to do this?" Voldemort questioned and Harry glared.

"I've barely touched the tip of the iceberg Voldemort." Harry said, more in regards to his actual training to use tears and rifts and less in commentary on how much he had left to fight with. The pain in the forefront of his mind was starting to make things difficult to focus on, the opening of tears was tiring.

"Then we shall have to stop you before you can truly learn to master this ability." Voldemort sneered, "kill him Quirrell and be quick about it, the trap that holds the Professors will be running out soon."

There, all he had to do was delay a bit longer and help would be on the way.

"Expelliarmus." Quirrel called and before Harry could even react, his wand shot from his hand, flying across the grounds.

"Time to die Potter. You were a good student but apparently, you're just not good enough." Quirrel taunted and started to cast another spell. "Avada..."

Flames erupted between the two, separating them, Harry looked around, confused as to what had happened, Quirrel stood ready, wand aimed as he looked around. To one side a figure stood, her arms folded, a look of anger on her face as she looked up from where the fire had started in front of her, illuminating her to the two others. "Elizabeth." Harry whispered, relieved that she had apparently got his message.

"Quirrel, I won't let you harm him." She snapped and Quirrel laughed.

"Of course, the ability would come from you, it makes sense, why Dumbledore was so keen to keep you around, no knowledge and expected to help teach others." Quirrel stepped away from the fire but Elizabeth shook her head.

"Dumbledore is just doing what he thinks is right, he knew nothing about this when I first arrived." Elizabeth dismissed as figures started to appear around her. "I hold powers that you could never dream of," she spoke, unknowingly throwing his words back at him in regards to the stone. "I have fought people who were willing to kill millions just to have their own ideals realised." She snapped angrily as the figures around her started to take aim. "And unlike those you faced that weren't willing to kill." She paused for dramatic effect, unfolding her arms, gesturing to the troops that were now standing around her. "I have no hesitation to remove you and your threat." With that, the troops fired.

One or two Quirrel perhaps could have dodged the attacks, but the amount of gunfire from the fifteen soldiers, combined with the anti apparation wards that surrounded the school prevented a lot of mobility. Quirrel was peppered with gunshots, his body twitching as they tore through him, knocking him back, staggering as a wet cough left his body as he struggled to breath before he collapsed to the ground. The soldiers around Elizabeth vanished just like they had arrived, disappearing into nothing as the flames flickered, bathing everything in the nearby area in light. At Quirrels body the two could see something rising up, a black wisp of what looked to be smoke coming from his body, taking shape in the air. "You have made a mistake girl, I will be back, you cannot stop me and I will make you regret the decision to stand against me on this day." Voldemort warned before the cloud seemed to shoot off, straight at Harry.

Harry went to move out of the way, as he did, a tear started to open in front of him and he caught sight of blue, lots of blue, blue sky and blue water. Voldemort shouted out as he hit the tear, passing through it, disappearing from sight.

"Have fun returning from the middle of the Ocean." Elizabeth mocked as the tear closed. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, as whatever form he was in was apparently durable enough to survive being blown up by his own spell and then possess other people. A little trip like that would just delay him for now. She walked over to where Harry was lying on the floor, having dived out of the way and offered her hand. "You can't stay out of trouble, can you?" She asked teasingly as she pulled Harry to his feet.

"I had it totally under control." Harry protested and Elizabeth laughed.

"Sure you did," she responded with a deadpan look, gesturing around at the devastation to the grounds. "Though you did put up a fight, a motorized patriot and a Handyman? How did you even know how to bring them in?"

For a moment, he was silent as he thought about the answer before shrugging his shoulders. "I just needed something to fight him and I thought of you, I guess it was enough for it to bring things through that were strong from Columbia." Harry offered as his only possible solution to what had happened.

She remained quiet, thinking over the possibility before shrugging her shoulders again. "It's possible, there's still a lot about this that even I don't know. But I think we should head inside, I heard what he said and we should check on the others." Elizabeth said, her tone shifting to one of warning as they moved towards the school attempting to find out what had happened to the Professors that had attempted to stop Quirrel and Voldemort. "Once this year ends, we're going to take a little trip." Elizabeth said as they entered the School drawing a confused look from Harry. "You need to learn more if he's making attempts to get his body back." She continued and he nodded as they walked up the stairs. "Keep it quiet though, I know others would try and stop this trip if you speak about it." Elizabeth pointed out getting another silent nod from Harry.

They rounded the corner on the first floor and found the professors, frozen in position, mid spell cast. They were stuck like statues, held in the moments that whatever Voldemort had done to them had activated. "They don't look injured." Harry said as he looked at Flitwick who was hovering in mid-air.

"No, he seems to have done something to freeze them in time, they're exactly how they were when he must have cast the spell. I didn't even realise something like this could be possible." She muttered in awe before pulling Harry to one side. "It's probably better if we didn't stand right in front of them when it runs out."

"Why?" Harry asked, tiredness clouding his thoughts for a moment before it clicked. "Oh, right, mid battle freezing, they'll probably still cast spells when they unfreeze." Harry said in understanding.

"Then we'll wait here, to one side to make sure they don't hit us when they return to normal."

TBC

And now the very late chapter is done, I hope you enjoy it, it was a pain in the ass to write in certain parts.

It also signals the coming conclusion of Year One. One last chapter to go to tie up the loose ends and then we can get started on Year 2.

Got to give a shout out to one of my reviewers who I started talking to, gave me ideas to work with that helped me finally push the last part of this chapter out and organise a couple of things for later chapters along with some tips with my writing. So, Thank You Bearmauls for the conversation.


	18. Chapter 18: Explanations and Revelations

**Chapter 18: Explanations and Revelations**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock Infinite_

Flitwick was the first to come free of the trap, whatever spell chain that he had been casting had been finished just as the trap activated, the spell firing from his wand down the corridor. He looked around, confused at what had happened as he landed on his feet, the corridor now empty of Quirrell but now also had two new occupants. McGonagall was next to unfreeze, her spell that she had been casting a protective ward of some description, no doubt to try and block or deflect any spell that was sent their way and finally, Snape was last to be released, his spell flying wide, Harry who had been near the trajectory of the spell leant back against the wall, it missed him by a clear margin but Harry wasn't taking any chance.

The three professors looked in confusion, wands still clutched in their hands as they tried to see where Quirrel went but lowered their wands after a moment seeing Harry and Elizabeth standing to one side. "Miss DeWitt, Mr Potter, how did you get here?" Flitwick asked and Elizabeth made a slight gesture back the way they came.

"Through the front door." She joked and Harry barely bit back the urge to laugh. He did not want to get into any more trouble than he was already going to be in.

"Yes, but how did you appear right in front of us like you have." Flitwick altered the question slightly, not rising to the bait of the joking line in a serious situation that they were in.

"You three had been caught in something, it kept you frozen in time I'd have to guess, you were each stuck doing whatever you were doing when you were caught in the trap." Elizabeth explained calmly, "I honestly did walk in through the front door as well, we arrived here about a minute ago."

"Then where is Quirrel? If he got away, then he could have gotten the stone." McGonagall interrupted and Elizabeth glanced at Harry, she had arrived at the end of it, he had been there from the moment he came outside.

"I didn't check his pockets when I arrived but I don't think he could have stolen it during that time." Elizabeth admitted and Harry chimed in to continue.

"He left the school straight after he trapped you," Harry explained drawing the full attention of the three professors.

"And just how would you know that?" Professor Snape questioned and Harry looked away slightly nervously, knowing this would be the part where he would probably get lynched.

"Because I knew he'd have an escape route planned somehow and was waiting to try and delay him if he got away from you." Harry explained quickly and seeing the three equally angry looks, grit his teeth, and braced himself for the coming chewing out.

"Were you out of your mind!?" McGonagall snapped and Harry flinched slightly at the anger that was in her voice, "you could have been killed! You should have been killed, a first year going up against Quirrel like that should have been unable to stop him."

"It wasn't just Quirrel." Harry added in, unable to stop himself, no secrets were going to be kept here if they asked and certain things he didn't doubt that they'd ask.

"What?" McGonagall paused, caught off guard by that interrupt.

"We were right in the theory Professor." Harry said to Flitwick, drawing a look of confusion as he tried to remember the conversation before, the adrenaline from the fight having thrown it from his mind. "Quirrel wasn't acting alone so to speak. You-Know-Who was there as well, attached to the back of his head."

"You-Know-Who?" Flitwick asked and Harry nodded. behind the Charms Professor, Snape paled even more so than he normally did and McGonagall shivered but regained composure almost instantly. "I thought there was something strange when we duelled and then he lost his turban but it was about that time we were frozen in place." Flitwick said with a gesture towards a bundle of purple fabric that had adorned Quirrell's head for the last year. Dumbledore always said that he wasn't gone. He was never sure but he was confident about it." Flitwick continued and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "On the back of his head?" Flitwick repeated and Elizabeth took over.

"He's something in between a ghost and life, a soul without a body able to possess others whether it's willingly or not I don't know but he was a part of Quirrel at the end there."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I've witnessed something similar three years ago," Elizabeth explained, speaking about what had happened when her 'mother' had been brought back to a shadow of life when she and Booker had tried to escape Columbia. There were similarities to what was going on now even if it was something drastically different.

Before anyone could continue the conversation, Snape stepped in, "perhaps we should move this conversation to another location instead of the Hallway." Snape suggested and after several moments McGonagall gestured for them to follow her due to her office being on the floor that they were currently on. They entered and took seats, McGonagall displaying some of her transfiguration skills creating two extra chairs for Elizabeth and Harry with barely a moment pause. "Now, explain what you meant." Snape practically ordered and Elizabeth shared a brief glance to Harry knowing that the truth was now going to come out soon, regardless of what she wanted to do to avoid it. Too many questions were going to be asked if she avoided it. But that didn't mean she had to give all the answers in one go.

"Three years ago, someone tried to bring my mother back from the dead, it didn't work, not fully, it tore her body and trapped it on this level of existence." She looked down at the ground thinking back to her actions, so naive and so impulsive back then, she had toyed with things that shouldn't have been done. Albeit she hadn't tried to resurrect her, she had only gone there to try and mutilate her 'mothers' corpse to get past a handprint sensor. Still sounded bad when you tried to put it that way. "Her spirit was able to possess her body but it wasn't true existence, she was trapped between life and death." Again, it was a lie to an extent, it was a shadow of who her 'mother' had been, pulled through into the world and forced into the body that inhabited the world, similar yet different to the experience. "I believe that You-Know-Who is something like her, he's in-between life and death."

The three professors looked thoughtful about this, they had each had experience with Elizabeth to know that she wasn't being completely honest but nor was she outright lying in regards to what she was saying. "Is this related to the tears that appeared when we first met?" McGonagall asked and Elizabeth nodded her head slowly.

"Tears?" Snape asked having not been kept in the loop in that regard. Harry and Elizabeth shared a look, both wondering how they were going to explain when suddenly Harry let out an 'oh' of realisation.

"All this made me forget, they've started appearing to other people." He quickly said quietly to Elizabeth and she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"No point keeping it hidden further then." Elizabeth muttered slightly louder and then looked at Snape. "Tears are doorways or windows, they can vary in their appearances and what they show but essentially they are a glimpse into something that could have been or what will be, every possibility that could possibly happen. The simplest way to explain it that I've always stuck to is like this, picture yourself at a crossroads and you choose a direction, left, right or straight ahead. Each one will lead to different things but it's what you choose, you go left and never look back, the right and straight ahead options fade away." She paused, he gave a nod of understanding and she continued. "But what would have happened if you took one of the other options? how would things have changed? These doorways allow people to see into possibilities that exist all running parallel to each other." She stopped the explanation and saw the look of pensiveness that came across Snape's features and part of her wondered what he was thinking about. "There are two people in this whole world who can currently open them, myself and Harry." She stopped again, glancing at McGonagall, "remember what we spoke about when we first met? even though whatever that was that I was stuck in was interrupted it still took effect on him, over the year, this power of his has developed, I don't know where it's going to end with him but it's getting stronger." Elizabeth said to the head of Gryffindor and She frowned but nodded none the less. "And with what he just told me, it looks like what happened where I am from is also happening here." Elizabeth said with a glance to Harry getting him to take over.

"There have been two tears that have been seen by other students and professors, one was in the Library shortly after I spoke to you Professor." He said glancing back at Flitwick, "that one was seen by Susan and Madam Pince, a tear that revealed an alternate variation of the Library but it wasn't in good condition."

"What did you see?" Flitwick asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"The library was burning, I don't know what caused it but I do know that there looked to be little that could have been done to save the books that were there from the fire. I left before I accidentally caused the tear to open." He admitted and Elizabeth gave a small smile in acknowledgement of the sensible move that he made. "There was a second one as I went to look for Professor Babbling. This one was seen by the three Gryffindor Chasers, it was Hogwarts that they saw through the tear but at the same time it was something that freaked them out badly, I didn't see it fully because I was trying to keep out of their way but they saw people in robes and masks and that caused Katie to freak." Harry explained and the three professors looked troubled at that news.

"Did it look something like this?" McGonagall asked as she stood, walking over to a bookcase, and pulling out a book with barely a momentary glance at the shelf. She opened it up and flicked through a couple of pages before stopping on one which had pictures of various masks.

"Yes, they looked similar to that from the brief glance that I saw." Harry agreed and McGonagall let out a resigned sigh.

"Death Eaters in Hogwarts, even if it's not this one that it can or could happen is a horrifying thought." She muttered, closing the book, putting it on her desk and returning to her seat.

"It closed just after the chasers ran away and I continued to look for Professor Babbling."

"Why Professor Babbling? Why not one of us?" Flitwick asked, he knew that the three, Harry, Elizabeth and Bathsheda had a connection with each other due to the two living at her house for the last part of the summer but for him to prioritize her over his Head of House was a bit of a concern for Flitwick.

"It's because she already knows about this, she's 'in on the secret' if you will, I doubt it was a disrespect to you Professor, after all the moment he worked out the information about the theft he came to you Professor." Elizabeth defended Harry's actions, "we were told to keep this ability as secret as possible because of how easily someone could try and take advantage of it, the only ones who knew were Professor McGonagall, Professor Babbling and after Christmas, Professor Dumbledore."

"It took that long for you to fully tell him?" McGonagall questioned in surprise, she had expected Dumbledore to question her about it after McGonagall had initially told him but apparently, he had decided not to.

"It was only after I took Harry away for a few days before Christmas, He has protections that keep a basic eye on him," Elizabeth explained, catching Harry by surprise, his head turning to look at her so fast Elizabeth could have sworn she heard his neck crack as it did so. "Non-invasive, just ones that make sure you're healthy." Elizabeth commented and Harry frowned a look of anger crossing his face. "One moment," Elizabeth said to the Professors and grabbed Harry by the arm, practically pulling him from the chair and out the office.

The door closed behind them but Elizabeth didn't stop, dragging him across the corridor and into the Transfiguration classroom. She let go of his arm as the door closed. "He's been spying on me!" Harry shouted in anger and the desks in the classroom shook from the magic behind his anger.

"Not spying, making sure you were safe in a way I do NOT agree with." She said pointedly, making sure to emphasise that although she knew about it when she learnt that he knew that they had gone but didn't tell him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because there wasn't a time that was right for it, with everything that's been going on I never found the right time to tell you what I knew," She admitted weakly, it wasn't an attempt to defend herself from not telling him but just more owning up to her mistake in that regards.

"All this time? He's had me monitored?" Harry asked numbly, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"I don't know how long he's had it on you, I didn't ask." Elizabeth said, waiting for an inevitable outburst, she could see it boiling under the surface.

"All this time..." Harry muttered weakly, walking almost robotically down the aisle between the desks. "He must have had it on me from the moment I was left at the Dursley's." He said, his right-hand clenching into a fist and unclenching seconds later, the motion repeating with every step. "All these years, all the things I had to endure at the Dursley's and he KNEW ABOUT IT!" Harry shouted the desks launching across the room. Elizabeth cried out, narrowly avoiding one desk that almost came directly at her, barely ducking out of the way in time. "Everything I suffered, living in a cupboard under the stairs, all those times I missed meals because of made up punishments, all those times I... I..." He stopped, turning back to look at Elizabeth, looking lost and confused before the anger reared again, refusing to face the feelings that were currently bubbling just underneath the anger. "For TEN YEARS! I was forced to live in a cupboard! Ten years I was repeatedly locked away without food, without light!" The pain in his voice was thick but Elizabeth didn't move, letting him work through it at his own rate, she knew what he was dealing with. She knew that her attempts to stop him now would cause bitterness and resentment towards her, so she'd let him work on it. "I didn't even know my name until I was four, it was always Boy this or Freak that!" Harry cried out in resentment, "I never had a birthday celebrated, I was alone all that time and you tell me he had spells on me to keep me safe?" He asked in astonishment, pacing around the room. "Where was he when I was being attacked by Dudley? Where was he when I used accidental magic to escape from them?" Harry continued to vent, pointing out problems that in Elizabeth's mind were justified, if Dumbledore had been monitoring him then surely, he could have stepped in to help. "He was keeping me safe!? If that was him keeping me safe, then I don't need his protection! I don't need him!"

He stopped pacing, his anger drained from his shouting, if the furniture could talk it would probably be thanking him at the moment having now settled down as he stood silently, his back to Elizabeth, fists clenched and his body shaking with barely contained anger mixed with sadness "How could he let me live like that?" Harry asked, his voice cracking slightly. Elizabeth stepped forwards towards the boy who normally would stand so strong around the others but now had his entire childhood called into question by one simple statement struggling to deal with it. She walked around him so that she stood in front of him and slowly she knelt not making a sound as she did, it made her slightly shorter than him but it didn't matter as she grabbed his shoulders, looked him in the eyes, Emerald Green, shimmering with unshed tears that she could see were held back by sheer force of will, locked with her blue eyes. "Why would he let me live like that?" Harry asked again and Elizabeth pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly.

"It won't happen again Harry," she said softly, "I won't let it happen again, we're in this together now." She said reassuringly and just held him comfortingly for several moments. Behind her she heard the door click shut again, knowing that at least one of the Professors had come to investigate the crashing of furniture. "Have you still got your cloak?" She asked him, feeling his hair brush against the side of her face as he nodded. "Put it on and take a walk, take some time to think and collect yourself then come back to the office, we'll still be there." She said before she leant back from the hug, holding onto his shoulders. "We'll solve this problem and others, just one step at a time all right?" Again, she got another nod and she gave him a comforting smile.

He took out his cloak and threw it over him as Elizabeth walked over to the door, opening it, and walking out, holding it open for a moment longer to let Harry walk out and closing it behind her. She then walked back to the office and opened the door letting herself back into the room. "Is he okay?" Professor McGonagall questioned quietly and Elizabeth shook her head.

"He's just had his whole childhood turned upside down and now he's left questioning things. He's not going to be all right for a long time." Elizabeth said angrily. "But it's nothing that we can deal with now and I will fix that problem." She explained with steely determination, "and we're getting off track on to something that we didn't need to bring up. A mistake on my part." She admitted without hesitation, "needless to say, Dumbledore knows of the Tears. Harry didn't know that but he did know that I've spoken to Bathsheda about it." Elizabeth said, slipping to a less formal speech in regards to names as Harry was no longer here. "I've spoken to her about a couple of different things but I don't remember mentioning it to her that they could start appearing."

"Why are they appearing?" McGonagall interrupted Elizabeth, drawing a slightly amused look at being cut off from saying exactly what she was asked.

"Because both myself and Harry are here," she paused, thinking on how best to phrase the next part. "we're conduits, we are essentially the keys to unlock these doors and as we use this power it allows it to become more apparent to others, we are the only ones who can open them though so there is no risk to them appearing," Elizabeth hastened to add, knowing that there would be concerns about the tears that would be appearing and no doubt more frequently as time went on.

"Not even with magic?" Flitwick asked and Elizabeth immediately went to answer with a negative before she stopped herself.

"Now that you mention it, I'm not so sure... the Lutece Twins were able to create a machine to open them but it was one of a kind and they died a long time ago." Elizabeth said, again another half-truth, in all sense of the word the Lutece Twins were dead but at the same time they weren't, they were in-between existence in ways that no one could probably have predicted. "Anything is possible, I have long since learnt that but it took the twins years to even scratch the surface of what they were doing." Elizabeth continued before Snape finally interjected.

"As interesting as all this has been, there is still the more immediate concern of the Dark Lord and his host escaping the Castle." Snape said and Elizabeth nodded her head knowing that he was right, they had become hooked back on to the more outlandish thing and less on the more important thing that they needed to pay attention on. The thief and the Stone. "What happened when he trapped us?"

"I don't know all that happened, though I can take a guess from how I found the grounds when I came back." Elizabeth suggested getting a wave to continue. "Quirrel tried to escape the Castle, you had injured him during the fighting so he was forced to leave, with that Harry stepped in to stop him, knowing that he couldn't use magic to stop him, he used the tears, pulling things through to try and stop him. Not knowing what he was doing fully though he didn't pull through full versions, from what I saw they were prototype models that were taken down quite easily. If he had known, then I doubt Quirrel could have stopped him in the condition he was in." She said with pride at Harry's abilities. "I arrived just after he had been caught by Quirrel who had been about to kill him and I stopped him." She said with a finality that instantly told the three what she had done.

Their reactions were mixed, McGonagall gave a look of shock mixed with disgust that she had taken a life, Flitwick had one of understanding, he knew that sometimes, drastic measures had to be taken to protect others and Snape masked his look quickly, a flicker of respect shown towards her before it was hidden behind his passive mask. "You killed him then?" McGonagall asked and Elizabeth shrugged.

"You can see it like that, in all honesty he was already dead, his body just didn't know it yet." Elizabeth said and looked thoughtful, "You cannot host something as evil as Voldemort," three flinches as she said the name. "Without there being strain on the body, he didn't have long left."

"Especially after he attacked the unicorns in the forest." Snape added, he had heard about the attacks in the Forbidden Forest and knew about the uses of Unicorn Blood. "He would have been dead within the month if he had been unable to get the stone without continued access to Unicorn Blood."

Elizabeth went slightly off colour after hearing about the Unicorn attacks, she hadn't known anything about it before leaving and all she knew about unicorns was that they were creatures of 'light' but nothing more than that. Apparently, their blood was something important though. "Either way, I put him down like the dangerous animal he was." Elizabeth said without remorse, "his body will still be on the grounds. We might want to clear that up before students start waking up." She suggested calmly, "along with making sure we collect all the bullets that were used, don't want any of the students injuring themselves out there." She added almost as an afterthought.

"Bullets?"

"As in things fired from guns," Elizabeth explained jokingly, already knowing that they knew what a bullet was, they were just caught off guard by it. "The tear I opened pulled through I guess you could call them mannequins, it's the closest comparison I can make, of soldiers who shot him and killed him." It was a blunt description of what happened, if they pushed for charges against her, she'd just disappear and keeping her promise to Harry, she'd take him with her. "But it didn't kill Voldemort." Again, a flinch and again she found herself not caring. Both Harry and herself were more than willing to call him by his name but Harry didn't at the moment only out of politeness. "He escaped from Quirrell's body and I can only guess he tried to hijacks Harry's but I dealt with him for at least a little while." Elizabeth explained snorting in amusement as she thought about it and how angry he must have been when it happened.

"What did you do?"

"I opened a doorway to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, he couldn't stop in time and so went straight through it, above water unfortunately, not that it makes much difference to him in this form... at a guess, if it had been under the water, the grounds may have been a bit flooded." She finished the brief explanation and waited for them to talk. All three seemed hesitant on where to begin, Elizabeth had just willingly admitted that she had killed someone with barely any signs of regret and at the same time they had learnt that Voldemort was back in action to an extent.

The first to recover in this was Flitwick, he spoke up asking a question that had been sitting at the back of his mind since she first reappeared. "How did you even know to return? You were at Malfoy Manor were you not?"

"I was but then Harry's owl turned up along with a note that simply stated someone was trying to steal something of mine. Knowing that wasn't the case because the item in question I'm currently wearing." She made a slight gesture to the choker around her neck with the bird pendant on it, "I Knew he had to be referring to something else important and the only important thing that I could think of in this situation was the Stone." Elizabeth explained. "As to how I got back so quickly, I think you already know the answer to that." She added, knowing that she didn't want to talk about it any further than she did. It was more than likely already going to cause problems with the fact that the tears were going to be visible to students and teachers alike, to know that she could essentially move through the wards with little to nothing stopping her would be another thing that would make them suspicious and probably act against her. Even if they had no reason to do so. People don't always act rationally around suspicious things or when they perceive a risk to their safety. "So where does this leave us now?" Elizabeth asked calmly, waiting to see what they would have to say.

A knock on the door and it opened showing a slightly exhausted but calmer Harry re-entering the room. He walked over to the group, returning to his seat but didn't say anything. he looked at Elizabeth and she gave him a reassuring smile, he didn't say anything but gave her a small smile as well. "Welcome back Mr Potter." Flitwick greeted politely and Harry looked at him and nodded again, still not feeling a hundred percent ready to talk. "As to where this leaves us Miss DeWitt, it leaves us short a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and a potentially bigger threat looming on the horizon if the stone is kept in the School." Flitwick explained, dismissing any concern he may have had for her actions. She had done what she could do to protect the School, he wasn't going to hold that against her. "Professor McGonagall, can you get in touch with the Ministry and get them to send Professor Dumbledore back here, Professor Snape, can you work with Hagrid to fix the grounds, Secure Professor Quirrell's body in one of the unused Dungeons."

With Flitwick taking leadership even though Professor McGonagall was the Deputy Headmistress, they quickly came up with a plan, to the school they would simply say that Quirrel had passed on in an unfortunate accident. They would also get the Stone out of the School and back into the hands of Nicholas Flamel. Elizabeth escorted Harry back up to the Ravenclaw Tower but instead of going straight to the tower led him to the Head Dorm room to speak with him some more.

They entered in and Elizabeth gestured for him to take a seat. "We need to talk about plans for the Summer," she started, sitting on the edge of the bed, and focusing on him. "It's something I've already started speaking to Dumbledore about." She paused seeing his glare, "regardless of any of the immediate feelings you have and the current situation that you've found yourself in, you know that he's going to be involved somehow." Elizabeth explained pointedly and Harry relaxed slightly though he still didn't look happy about it. "There is a reason that you were at that house and it is most probably what blinded him to the things that you went through." She stopped again trying to find the right words to say about the situation that Harry found himself in. "There are protections in place, I don't know what they are but they keep others from being able to find you when not at Hogwarts, its tied into the blood." She thought about what Dumbledore had said during their conversation, if Harry felt that it was home he would be safe. She wanted to try and avoid destroying all the protections just yet, she still had too many things to deal with before then. "You need to go back there." She stopped, raising a hand as he was about to protest. "Let me finish." She requested and he begrudgingly sat back, not looking happy in the slightest. "The protections there need renewing, not just for you but for them as well. I know you aren't that concerned about the increased risk to yourself, proven with you taking on Voldemort yourself." The two shared a smiled, she was proud of him and what he had done, she wished he had gone at it a different way but what he did was impressive. "But it also protects them and by extension another angle that they can get at you." She said and from the look on his face, he knew she was right. He didn't like what she had said but he understood that she was right.

Could he really take an action that would put others at risk if he could prevent it? "How long do I have to stay?" Harry asked in resignation and Elizabeth held up one finger.

"One month, that's how long it has to be now that you've started at Hogwarts, it will apparently charge the protections enough to cover them for the rest of the year."

"One month with no contact with the outside world? It'll feel like an eternity!" Harry protested and Elizabeth smiled.

"Whoever said you couldn't have contact with anyone?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, she hadn't implied that at all, at least she hadn't meant to imply that. "I told you this before, we're in it together Harry, I'll be around, I may disappear for a day or two at a time to sort a couple of things out but I'm not going to abandon you." She said drawing another smile from him. "Now, onto a lighter note, you have to help me come up with the explanation as to why I suddenly departed from the Malfoy home." She said pointedly and Harry couldn't help it at this point, the whole chaos of the theft and the revelations afterwards to switch to something as light hearted as that.

He laughed.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

The days following were chaotic, with most students gone for the Easter Holidays it was easier to cover up what had happened, though it was no less tense, especially when Dumbledore turned up alongside Madam Bones. Questions had been asked by both, a full investigation would be looked into it but at the moment the case looked to be an open and shut self-defence case for the professors and with Quirrel not having any familial connections he wouldn't have anyone chasing after them for vengeance and he didn't have anything majorly important to claim so no one would really be distraught about his passing. As much as Madam Bones didn't like the situation she didn't have much to go with from the version of the story she had been told and it would probably be pushed to one side by those who wanted to make it go away.

Dumbledore on the other hand was angry to say the least. Blood had been shed on school grounds, a life had been taken. To him there had to be another choice, even if others disagreed. Though as Elizabeth revealed the full story to Dumbledore his anger had dissipated. Understanding replacing mistaken belief that she had killed without any chance for him to stop. "You didn't really kill him, like you said, he had killed himself by taking Voldemort into his body." Dumbledore agreed tiredly, ashamed at himself that he had missed Quirrel and how badly it had escalated over this time.

"I know, we took the action that needed to be taken and the state he was in, he didn't have long." Elizabeth agreed and Dumbledore looked pained by that. "This is where we're going to come to conflict isn't it?"

"I hope not, I hope you understand that forgiveness is a necessary tool that we need to use in these situations, a chance for them to redeem themselves shouldn't be forsaken because it is easier just to permanently stop them."

"I agree, we should take the chance at times to try and redeem them... but not at the cost of innocents," Elizabeth said firmly. "One life for the safety of others, a couple, dozens, hundreds, thousands... or even just one." Elizabeth responded calmly. She knew Dumbledore wouldn't agree with her, all life was sacred to him, he had seen too many things with the conflicts that he had been through over the years. Though he probably had some concerns regarding the fact that she had just willingly said she would kill people with no hesitation she felt the need to make sure that he was okay with her being here, if he wasn't she'd go. "But can we co-exist? Two philosophies both similar yet different," She didn't go into detail about the similarities or differences because they were painfully obvious to both of them. "I want to work with you on this, I want to continue what we have going here."

"As do I, but I can't condone your actions."

"Then don't, I'm not about to go around slaughtering people that disagree with me. You already know that I'm working on making the Malfoy's see things from a different point of view along with a few other Pureblood families that see his way. I don't want to take a life but I can if I need to." Elizabeth reiterated her point. She was working to try and do things Dumbledore's way because she did believe that people should have a chance of redemption but again it led back to the point that there was a limit to what she was willing to forgive. "But let's not talk circles around this point, we'll move onto something I know that you also want to talk about... Harry."

"Yes, from my understanding you told him about the protections on him."

"He had a right to know, he had a right to know that he was being monitored." Elizabeth said calmly, again another topic she felt strongly about enough to call Dumbledore on.

"All I wanted was for him to grow up without the worries that were waiting for him," Dumbledore explained sadly and Elizabeth felt a slight tension she had felt in regards to this conversation slipping away as she saw the man who before had been so certain about things now starting to look the age that he actually was. "But I fear I may have shattered any trust before it could truly form. Does he hate me?"

"No?" Elizabeth said, uncertainty in her voice as she thought about it. "I don't think he does at least. He's hurt by it, angry as well and will more than likely distrust you for a long time but hate you? I doubt it at this point." Elizabeth explained and smiled slightly as Dumbledore seemed to find a bit of his strength again.

"Good, had I truly known what it would have been like I... I cannot truly say that I would do things differently, I know it wasn't the happiest of childhoods but he was safe." Dumbledore said resigned to whatever anger Elizabeth would direct against him.

"But what good was protecting him from the things that would try to get him if he had no spirit to fight against them, he doesn't see them as family, they don't see him as family, with nothing to fight for he won't ever be able to truly reach his peak. We both know Voldemort is going to return. The question is when is it going to happen? We can't hold him back for fear of what may happen."

"Then you have a suggestion?" Dumbledore asked and Elizabeth nodded.

"I've already convinced him to return to the Dursley's for the one month that is needed to charge the wards. He understands that it wouldn't just be his life that he's affecting if he leaves." Elizabeth explained and Dumbledore smiled slightly at the attitude Harry was taking with it, a small sacrifice of his own happiness to protect others. "After that month ends, I'll taking him away somewhere for a while."

"I assume this will be using your powers?" Dumbledore asked and she nodded her head. "Will you at least try to keep me informed about his condition while you are gone? I understand that I don't overly have a right to know but it would put me at ease to know that he is healthy." Dumbledore requested and Elizabeth nodded her head, it was the least she could do and it would hopefully prevent the questions that would be asked. "You will be back in time for the start of his second year?" Dumbledore asked and she shrugged.

"In theory, we should be, in fact we could end up returning just as we're leaving, it's not the easiest task to walk through the time ways." Elizabeth admitted to him. She was over exaggerating slightly but there was always the chance that they could end up being late or remarkably early in their return.

"Then I will wish you luck on your travels and simply ask that you take care of him, I may have made mistakes but all I wanted was the best for him." Dumbledore said solemnly and Elizabeth did believe him. "And while I think on it, perhaps there is something else you could do for me?" Dumbledore asked and Elizabeth looked confused, what could he possibly want her to do. "On your travels, could you keep an eye out for any information that could possibly explain why Voldemort survived, I have theories but no definitive proof. Anything you could come across could prove important to stopping him here."

She hadn't expected this, to be flat out asked to use the powers to try and find the information, she had been toying with it but it still always led back to the same thing, "just because he used it there doesn't mean he will have used it in this time, just remember that before you lock onto the idea too much. I'll keep an eye out but I can't guarantee anything."

"That's all I ask of you." Dumbledore said and Elizabeth stood up, taking the dismissal for what it was and exiting the room.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

The rest of the school year passed uneventfully after that incident, with the death of Quirrel being covered up, school returned to relative normality, Professor Dumbledore himself stepped in to assist with the Defence against the Dark Arts lessons along with Professor Snape, both had a vast knowledge of what they covered and Elizabeth and Harry both realised that Quirrel had been holding so much back with the information that he had taught in lessons, enough to cover the exams but barely anything more than that. As much as Harry disliked Snape's teaching methods he couldn't fault the man on his knowledge and Dumbledore had years of experience both in his conflict with Grindelwald and Voldemort and in general years of teaching.

The evening before the School broke up for the Summer holidays was one of excitable energy, Hufflepuff had come out of nowhere in the last two months and in the eyes of some stolen the House Cup, much to the delight of Professor Sprout who was handed the House Cup. Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup much to the annoyance of pretty much everyone that wasn't Slytherin, it was a lot closer this year but they had just managed to steal it in the Gryffindor Slytherin match due to the difference in Seekers, the one on the Gryffindor Team did not match up. Ravenclaw also fell short, winning against Hufflepuff but losing against Gryffindor and leaving them in second place on point by a handful at most, Harry couldn't remember the exact difference. Next year would be different though.

"So, what are your plans when you get out?" Terry asked Harry as the food was served.

"A month in purgatory then who knows." Harry explained simply, not going into more details than that.

"Your relatives?" He pushed the topic slightly and Harry nodded his head, "say no more," he said politely, realising it was a touchy topic to go into. "After that month? Nothing planned whatsoever?" Terry questioned and Harry shrugged his shoulders, he didn't have anything planned but that wasn't to say there weren't things being planned. "If you don't sort anything out you'll be more than welcome to stay at mine. We don't get up to much other than a trip away at the beginning of the holiday." Terry explained.

Harry looked thoughtful about that, it was a change to be invited round somewhere instead of being dismissed by everyone out of hand as a trouble maker. "I'll let you know, I know I'm going somewhere but I don't know how long we're going to be gone and it'll be hard to keep in touch with people."

"We? You and Elizabeth I'm guessing?" Terry questioned but Harry didn't answer, he really didn't want her to start getting harassed by everyone else about it even if they wouldn't be able to harass her for long about it. "Still, let's hope for a less chaotic year next year... am I right or am I right?" Terry joked and Harry chuckled nodding his head in agreement.

"Less mystery and theft attempts, I can go with that." He said happily before the conversation shifted to more of various holiday plans, chatting to a couple of the other students as time went on.

Soon enough, the Meal was finished and the students were making their way back to the dorms to prepare their final bits and pieces for their departure the following morning.

One month in Purgatory and then who knows what would happen? One thing was certain. Harry was looking forward to finding out.

TBC

Well there is the end of year one, Now some people are probably going to think I'm forcing it by having Harry return to the Dursleys for that month (I plan to do a time skip between the chapters to the end of that one month period just briefly touching on it.) But I can see Harry being willing to return to make sure the protections are in place. He's always been a character that has been willing to self sacrifice to make sure that others are safe, even if he doesn't like the person in question. With the Dursleys, they're family whether or not he gets along with them and deep down as much as he wants to get away he wouldn't condemn them to torture and death.

At least I don't think he would, Needless to say that one month isn't going to be a problem for him.

Still, now it's time to move onto Second Year, I'm looking forward to writing that, some big changes and some little changes are coming as well as a few different but familiar scenes coming into play.


	19. Chapter 19: A Glimpse of Summer

**Chapter 19: A Glimpse of Summer**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock Infinite_

 _What a difference a year makes._

Ever since returning from Hogwarts, things had been surreal at the Dursley's they no longer held him in such disdain, they didn't like him by any means of the word but they weren't going out of their way to treat him horribly. Vernon seemed to be content to ignore him or when he did speak to him he managed to keep a civil tongue, the chores were still largely left to Harry but he didn't mind, it gave him something to do. Thanks to the years dealing with Dudley, he didn't really have any friends in the area to talk to or hang out with, as such he kept to himself. Except for the days that Elizabeth turned up, every couple of days she'd turn up and although they wouldn't go anywhere, she was quite content just to sit and talk to him in the back garden away from prying eyes. Petunia didn't even seem to mind that she was turning up almost like clockwork, every three to four days Elizabeth would arrive at nine in the morning and leave in the evening at around about six to prepare other things. During those times, she'd talk to him about what she had experienced, what she had dealt with in Columbia. He could tell she was holding something back when she talked about it, every time she drew towards the conclusion of the story she became vague, not going into as much detail as she had the beginning or middle of it.

There was a reason for her bringing up Columbia, the Handyman and Motorized Patriot that he had called in to face Voldemort had thrown her a bit. "When I finished with Columbia, we broke that timeline. All variations of Columbia should have been locked away... We stopped the root cause that would bring it to creation. No Columbia, no Handyman and no Mechanical Patriot." She paused, cup of tea in hand as she looked at the hedge at the back of the garden, neatly maintained, no doubt by Harry's work. "These days where I haven't been here, I've been looking into it. I'm still trying to understand it myself." She sighed, placing the cup down, leaning forward slightly in the chair, "Columbia is gone, but fragments of it still remain." Elizabeth explained and Harry looked at her in confusion from the seat he was sat in. "We destroyed it through a Paradox, because we destroyed it before it could exist but we wouldn't have been able to unless it existed, it's a bit confusing but it largely comes down to this ability, it is sealed in its own little bubble, no one can enter it anymore and no one can change or toy with it." Elizabeth explained it, trying to keep it as simple as it could possibly be.

"But I thought you said that these decisions just created branches, that changing an action won't affect what would happen, it would just branch off into another alternative timeline."

"In theory, it should have, but this was myself at my peak with my powers, I had just had them fully returned and the action I took wasn't just myself. Every Elizabeth from every timeline acting as one, we sealed the door." She stopped, looking slightly pained at this, her thoughts back to the river and each of the other Elizabeth's disappearing, one by one as each possible outcome was sealed away. Somehow, whether it was just due to her being her and the instigator of it, or perhaps it was due to some other reason, she survived. Like the Lutece Twins, involved with the world but not completely. "With that shut, there should be nothing of Columbia left other than myself and the Lutece Twins because they act outside of everything now. But things have a habit of popping up. When I went to Rapture I found myself able to access a part of Columbia that I had been to before, I'm still not sure how it happened, was it because it had happened and would always happen or was it because that version of Rapture was connected to Columbia and it was acting as a hole in the seal?" She asked herself more than Harry, it was an answer that she still didn't have. "But that is where your Handyman and Patriot came from. Suchong and a few of Raptures brightest minds were able to influence the tears, they even shared ideas with Fink from Columbia and had a little back and forth on ideas and the theft of ideas happened quite a lot, if I had to guess, Suchong created his own version of the Handyman and the Patriot but decided they didn't work as well in the underwater city. The handyman is designed to have open areas to move around in, it wouldn't survive in deep water and the Patriot is durable but with its weapon working through ammunition at the rate it does, it's not really viable in the situation it was needed. I think when you pulled them through, you pulled prototypes that had been abandoned, they saw Voldemort as a threat to a child and acted on basic programming rather than anything more advanced." Elizabeth finished her explanation, it covered the basics in her mind about how he had been able to get them, a question that had bothered her since she had first seen them, they shouldn't exist anymore, yet they did. How many more fragments of that time were going to appear? She looked over at Harry who had drifted off in thought, leaning back into the chair and looking up at the sky. She could see the thoughts running through his head as he tried to understand what she had said, she hoped she had been clear enough but also knew that what she was talking about was confusing.

She excused herself quietly, taking her cup back into the Kitchen, placing it by the sink ready for whoever did the washing up, she would have done it herself out of politeness but as the only item to wash it felt pointless to waste the water. Petunia was sat in there, reading her own book at the moment and Elizabeth smiled politely at her, nodding her head in polite greeting. "Thank you again for allowing me to visit Harry every couple of days as I've been doing." Elizabeth said gracefully as she made her way back towards the garden.

"It wasn't just for him." Petunia spoke up and Elizabeth stopped at the doorway, turning around to face her, surprised and confused at her speaking up. She hadn't really spoken to the Dursleys during her visits other than the brief greetings and farewells when she arrived and left.

"Oh? How do you mean?" Elizabeth questioned in curiosity.

Petunia sighed, closing her book, and placing it down on the table. "What you said to us last year hit close to home, I've always put my sister out of my thoughts due to everything that happened as we were growing up, but you brought it back to my attention and I realised you were right, she would not have treated Dudley like we treated Harry." She had hesitated on saying Harry's name, old habits were hard to stomp out. "But it's a change that we couldn't reverse overnight. The damage towards Harry had already been done, he has no reputation other than a criminally deranged child." Petunia explained and Elizabeth felt herself frowning, she hadn't heard any of this before. "The reputation had been made over years, always alone, always quiet, always pale... yes it was our making that caused it but they were the labels we put on him." Petunia explained and Elizabeth folded her arms, letting her body language speak her anger at the situation instead of saying anything, knowing full well that Harry was close enough to hear this. "Before his magic was revealed to him, the excuse was that he was going to be attending St Brutus's School for Criminally Insane Boys." She stopped, flinching under the glare. "We've worked to stop it," she placated quickly. "While he still holds the reputation for being troubled... he's not seen like that anymore." The glare lessened and Petunia relaxed slightly. "We have done many things that I'm not happy with now that I look back on it. But you being here is helping fix it."

"Fix it? how?" Elizabeth asked sharply.

"When you first started arriving, the neighbours noticed, they saw you arrive and they saw you leave late in the evening." She paused, looking down at her book, Elizabeth couldn't see what it was but at the moment she didn't care. "My neighbours asked about you, turning up so routinely and staying for so long, I explained to her that you were acting as a counsellor, trying to help Harry, it took suspicion off your continued appearance and helps fix some of the damage that we've caused towards him." Petunia explained and Elizabeth relaxed again, letting the anger dissipate. It was an interesting idea, to fix both Harrys reputation and their own, they would be seen as doing something to benefit him and attempting to take care of him, his reputation would also shift if he was fixing the alleged problem that they had made for him. An interesting move to make. "It will also explain why you're taking him with you when he leaves at the end of the week."

He had already told them that he was going to be leaving when the month was up, he hadn't mentioned any details other than the fact that he was leaving with Elizabeth and that he wouldn't be back until the end of his second year. "Why tell me this now? knowing that he can hear this entire conversation."

"I know he can hear it, it's... I suppose it's easier to talk to him through someone else than it is to actually do it in person." She said calmly effectively finishing the conversation. Elizabeth hesitated, tempted to continue the talk but decided against it, walking back out into the garden, closing the door.

"I take it you did hear everything that was said?" Elizabeth asked and Harry didn't respond. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, walking back to her chair, and sitting down. "Harry?"

"Huh? What?" Harry said in confusion, snapping away from where he had been staring at the bushes at the end of the garden.

"You were just listening to what was said weren't you?" She asked and Harry looked even more confused.

"Not really... there was something in the bushes back there... I was trying to see what it was without scaring it off... I think it's been watching us for a little while now." Harry explained and Elizabeth partly wanted to bury her head in her hands, groaning in frustration at him missing that little bit of insight into his aunt and another part of her wanted to immediately move to investigate the bushes in question. "But it's gone now..." Harry muttered and Elizabeth, still slightly hesitant to drop either of the subjects sighed. "So, what were you saying?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter for now." Elizabeth said dismissively.

Nodding in acceptance, Harry leant back in the chair, looking up at the sky above. "Hey, tell me something," he started calmly, "when you talk about Rapture, you keep mentioning things called plasmids, super powers in a bottle." He said and she gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. "Why didn't you use them?" He asked curiously, "surely they would have helped you." He questioned, she had spoken a bit about what she had gone through but never in any form of detail. She didn't want to bring up the fact that she had been killed.

"I did, at least a few of the weaker variants, I tried to avoid the majority of them for the same reason I'm going to tell you to avoid them, they bring nothing but insanity and destruction. They're unstable and alter your Genes and will inevitably cause you to lose any form of sanity that you have. So, you can understand why I was hesitant to use them, much less talk about them. They were made to make money, the people didn't care about the safety behind them or any addictive qualities that they may have, in fact that last bit would be why " She explained and received a nod in understanding. "Good, now when you were looking at the bushes, ignoring quite an important topic that you were expected to listen in to... what did you see?" She said pointedly, again confusing Harry but he dismissed it. If the conversation was vitally important she'd end up repeating it.

"I'm not sure, it was something doing its best to remain hidden, I only caught sight of it because it blinked but it disappeared the moment you came back out." Harry explained and Elizabeth frowned again. It couldn't be something dangerous to him or the wards would have prevented its entrance, even so, it wasn't something that was worth risking. Standing up again, she walked towards the back of the garden, looking at the hedges in question, she could see small imprints on the ground that no doubt was the result of something being there but she couldn't tell what.

"Whatever it was, I doubt it was something that meant you harm." Elizabeth said, voicing her thoughts that she had just had, "but we better play it safe, head inside and stay inside today, I'm going to speak to a couple of people about it." Elizabeth said cautiously, it wouldn't do to ignore the risk, as little as it was. Slowly Harry did so, knowing as well as Elizabeth did that he should be in theory safe wasn't worth putting it to the test when he had no need to do that. "I'll be back this evening, though you know how to get in touch with me if you need to." She said pointedly, knowing that he had a pretty much guaranteed way to contact her.

"And if you don't come back this evening?" Harry questioned and Elizabeth smiled.

"Have I missed doing anything I said I was going to do?" She questioned and Harry shook his head, entering the house. Elizabeth followed and seeing the look of confusion from Petunia, waved it off as Harry went upstairs and Elizabeth left the house, making her way down towards the house that had been designated as her way in and out and using her Portkey that she had been supplied to return to Hogwarts.

With Elizabeth gone, Harry returned to his room, his homework set out on a rickety desk that had suffered a lot of abuse from Dudley over the years, he didn't mind too much, it fit his needs. His homework was already piled up ready to be put away, completed after his first couple of days back just to kill time outside of the chores and the talks with Elizabeth. Now it had a blank sketchbook resting on it, open on the first page with a pencil resting on it. It was something that Elizabeth had suggested, to help think about variations that he could try and interact with. Of course, he could have just used a notepad to write the ideas down but she had suggested art through the simple fact that he needed to be able to visualise what he was focusing on, knowing something was all well and good but was apparently harder to pull through compared to something that he could visualise. At her request, he hadn't messed with the power, not wanting to take a chance that it could affect the wards that apparently protected him, he frowned, pencil in hand as he looked down at the blank paper. Something felt strange around him. A prickling in the back of his mind that made him question if he was seeing everything that he needed to.

He lowered the pencil, placing it down on the desk, glancing towards the Wardrobe that stood in the corner of his room. "I know you're hiding in there." Harry said calmly as he could, making sure to keep the noise down so that the Dursleys didn't freak out. "You can come out, I won't hurt you... but I won't let you stay hidden." Harry called out to whoever or whatever was hidden but nothing responded, he doubted it was a threat because it wouldn't have waited for so long in a place that he could have opened at any time. He didn't hear a tell-tale sign of anything disappearing but that didn't mean whatever it was had vanished, the only signs he had seen in regard to teleporting was a pop or a crack when the figure had disappeared but that didn't mean there wasn't a way to do it silently. Calmly, he stood up, a slight shift of sound in the wardrobe letting him know that whatever was in there was still there. "You've got until the count of three." Harry enforced holding up his hand and lifting a finger. "one..." no movement, he pictured what he could use to eject the figure, "two..." he held up a second finger, he had an idea, something simple and practical. "Last chance..." Harry muttered loud enough to be heard by the thing hiding "Three." He said after a moments pause and just to add a bit of flair, clicked his fingers as something burst out of the Wardrobe, hitting the floor with a dull thud. "I warned you." Harry said calmly, folding his arms, glancing at the spring platform which he had formed in the wardrobe, it looked like something out of a comedy film that he had seen snippets of years ago and it worked just as effectively as it did in the film. Turning his gaze from the spring he looked down at the figure that had been hiding and studied the small greyish brown creature and frowned.

What was a house elf doing in his house? "Who are you?" Harry asked cautiously.

The creature looked up at him, "Dobby is sorry..." It spoke quickly, practically grovelling at his feet. crawling towards him as he repeatedly apologised.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked calmly but still on guard in case this was something more sinister under the guise of apology. If it had been one sent by Dumbledore or someone at the school surely it wouldn't be hiding and watching him from a distance.

"Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter." He spoke quickly, looking around as if he could be in trouble at any moment from speaking to Harry.

"Warn me about what?"

"Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!" Dobby cried out and Harry winced at the sudden loudness, both because he knew the Dursley's were in the house and also because of the close proximity. For a moment, Harry stood in silence, waiting to hear the angry sounds of his Uncle before looking back at the Elf and frowning slightly.

"Keep the noise down, you'll get me in trouble." Harry hissed quickly, although attitudes were better, there was still an underlying level of out of sight out of mind with regards to his magical abilities. If it didn't show up in front of them, they were okay with ignoring it and by proxy him. "Now, what were you saying, why can't I return to Hogwarts?" Harry asked and Dobby looked around nervously.

"There is going to be terrible danger Harry Potter, you can't go back, it's not safe." Dobby spoke quietly, and Harry felt a slight level of unease run up his spine as he could almost feel the level of unease in the air from Dobby. Whatever it was scared Dobby immensely and from the way he seemed restrained in his actions, tensely looking around and uneasy gave Harry the impression that the Elf wasn't ordered to come here.

"What is the danger?" Harry asked cautiously, if his luck was any indication then he was going back to face it, that there was no doubt, but any information he could get would be useful, if nothing more than to prepare him for an inevitable conflict. Either to consider it with his abilities or to investigate through normal means. Dobby looked away, confusing Harry as he didn't know why the elf didn't just speak what was on his mind.

"I can't say..." Dobby spoke weakly and Harry frowned.

"Does it have to do with Voldemort?" A flinch from Dobby showed that even the magical creatures had feared the name of the dark lord, but after a moment's hesitation, Dobby shook his head. The problem had nothing to do with him, "What about one of his followers, is it something they're doing?" He asked, just because Voldemort was gone didn't mean that it wasn't an independent idea from one of his previous followers.

There was another shake of the House Elf's head that showed it wasn't and he frowned, then who would be the problem behind the situation. "No loyalties at all?" Harry asked to make certain, it wasn't so much as he believed the elf was lying but more that he had to cover the entire spectrum. A pause in response to the question and Dobby shrugged, looking uncertain by the answer. He didn't know. Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to think on the situation. "Do you know what the threat to the school is?" Harry asked, the elf knew something and perhaps if he knew what the threat was then Harry could either act to prevent it or get someone else to stop it entirely. Another shake of the head. He sighed and Harry resisted the urge to rant a little bit. "So, you know that the school is under some kind of threat but you don't know who and you don't know when and you don't know by what?" He said and paused as he saw the pained and defeated look on the Elf. "No, I'm sorry that was out of line."

"The great Harry Potter is apologising to Dobby!" The elf practically cried out and Harry winced at the volume of it.

"Keep it down, you'll get me in trouble." Harry hissed, while things had been slightly better with his aunt and to a small extent Dudley, though the latter was more of a 'stay out of my way and we'll be fine, get in my way and you'll suffer' policy. It was still dicey with Vernon who was currently working with the 'if I ignore him then I have no problems' attitude. So, something like a house elf making lots of noise was not going to go over well with him. "What do you know that you can tell me?" Harry questioned trying to keep Dobby from punishing himself and crying out. If he limited the question to something that he could freely choose what he could say then perhaps he'd be able to get information that way.

"It happened before..." Dobby started quietly and then looked up in surprise before disappearing into thin air.

Harry stood, looking confused at the sudden disappearance, before he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He jumped, spinning around, and facing the new person. "Elizabeth?" He asked in surprise.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked as the tear that she had opened had closed behind her. She had caught sight of something disappearing but hadn't seen who or what it was.

"Possibly?" Harry said with a bit of uncertainty, still not entirely sure as to what had just happened. "I was warned about something... I think." Harry said and then quickly went over the discussion that he had with Dobby.

"A threat to the school? A mystery person who isn't associated with Voldemort and something that had happened before." Elizabeth let out a small breath as she tried to puzzle it through, not being from around this time and knowing next to nothing about the history of the Magical World she had no clue as to where to even begin. But for now, the wards were not as secure as they believed for Harry, it would be better to get him out, somewhere safer and then work to fix the problem. Bathsheda is out of the country and Hogwarts is going through some routine work so is also out of the running... I don't want to just impose on the Malfoys." She also didn't add that she didn't want them to have even more leverage over her. They already knew her secret and her abilities to an extent and while she had hopefully pushed them towards a different view it was still all up in the air and a risk that she wasn't going to push.

"Rapture." Harry spoke up suddenly causing Elizabeth to pause mid ramble.

"What?" she questioned in surprise.

"Let's go back to Rapture, that version we went to at Christmas. We can come back at any point so it's not like we will miss any chance to get the gear for school and we barely looked beyond the surface of the place." Harry smiled for a moment, remembering the brief time that he had been there, it had been breath-taking, the city under the sea.

"Hmm..." Elizabeth was hesitant, yes, they could go there and yes it would be safe because they wouldn't enter any of the doors that led to a potential conflict with _him_ but she could keep them in a time and place that there wouldn't be any problems. "It's possible, but what about the rest of your friends, up and disappearing on them for the better part of a month and a half." She then paused and smiled slightly. "No, I have a better idea for now, you'll be able to disappear for a bit and put everyone else's concerns at ease and you'll still be able to communicate with everyone easily enough without forcing open tears everywhere. It's the last thing we need for rifts to start appearing because we were jumping around in a concentrated area." They had talked about the rifts appearing in Hogwarts and how more were likely to appear as they continued to stay there, thankfully no one other than the two were able to open them, at least as far as they were aware.

"So where are we going then?" Harry asked curiously and Elizabeth shrugged.

"Wherever we feel, a lot has changed from what I've read in the past, a lot of it I never got to see, I want to say Paris but I'm biased, pick a place and we'll go there."

"I don't have a passport." Harry said dubiously, not thinking things through.

Elizabeth laughed reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Neither do I, but let's face it, with how we travel we don't need passports." She explained and Harry nodded, understanding what she was getting at. "Now, hurry up and pack we should go as soon as we can." Elizabeth ushered and Harry quickly started to dash around grabbing clothes and his gear and throwing it into his trunk. "If only I knew what the time difference was." She muttered under her breath thinking of different locations that they could possibly go to. As she did the thinking, Harry quickly finished packing, shutting his trunk with a dull thud and turning back to face her. "Okay, the world is open to you, where do you want to go today?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, he had multiple options available to him, many places that the Dursley's had gone but never taken him, "So many choices." He smiled, a thought crossed his mind that was in his own opinion kind of petty but he wanted to act on it. "New York." He said with seriousness. "I want to go to New York." And Elizabeth suddenly felt a small bit of hesitation.

New York, where Booker had planned to take her when he was still unsure of what his true goal had been, the words played through her head again _'bring us the girl and wipe away the debt'_ But she steeled herself, that was different New York, a different place in a distinctly different time. "You want New York?" She questioned and Harry nodded, recovering from her shock over the coincidence she smiled. "Fine then, New York it is." She finished, her own curiosity of the city also adding to the interest and willingness to go, it had been where her true father had lived and she wondered whether or not it was going to be anything similar to the flashes she had seen all those years ago. She brought herself back to the here and now and looked around, "I suppose we better leave a note for the Dursley's to let them know we're going for the rest of the summer." She suggested and although Harry initially looked hesitant to do it, not wanting anything more to do with the Dursleys, a slight change in attitude didn't completely equal forgiveness but it was a start. "They may not care regardless but its only right. Besides we're not telling them where we're going or anything like that." She added as she grabbed a spare bit of parchment from his desk and a pen, quickly scribbling down a note. "Stick that to your door while I open a tear."

"Wait... what are we going to do about money?" Harry asked, gallivanting around the country was all well and good but what about being able to pay for anything. Elizabeth paused as well, she hadn't thought of that. The leaving being an impulsive decision. She hadn't exactly got permission when she had checked with Dumbledore about the intrusion, all he had done was confirm her initial suspicion, something could enter the wards if they meant no harm. So, they weren't as secure as Dumbledore would make people believe. "Gringotts then, we'll go there, thankfully there's a quiet alley off to the side that we can reappear in that people won't notice." She said, it was something she had worked out after a few trips to the Alley during her free time. "Let's get out of here." She said flicking her wand, a shrinking charm, and a charm to make the trunk lighter and within seconds she placed both her wand and the trunk away. "Makes shopping so much easier." She said with a slight smile and Harry shook his head. "Let's get this done quickly, a holiday awaits us."

HPCVHPCV

Dumbledore watched the device that was used to monitor Harry's location stop spinning for a moment before rapidly beginning to spin again. "So, she's started taking him to different places." He smiled, it was something that he was happy for, all he had wanted to do was to guarantee a safe and happy childhood for Harry but he had failed at that task.

He looked over the list of books that had been suggested by his new Defence Against the Dark Art teacher and frowned. It was a lot of books. He sighed and signed off on it, there had been a greater challenge for recruiting this year with the death of Quirrell, yes it had been covered up as an accident but it was another professor who had been unable to last more than a year. People took note of things like that, especially when it had been happening for years now. He sighed again as he folded the list and put it to one side, he'd give it to Minerva when he next saw her. He opened the top draw of his desk and pulled out a folded piece of parchment that Bathsheda had given him before Christmas, he still had not opened it, a 'Pandora's box' he had been warned would be opened if he spoke about what he found and it gave him pause. Part of him told him to destroy the note, let the information disappear in to the ether but another part told him to keep hold of it, every time Elizabeth went to Harry he would find himself going back to it, she was good for him but she was also a risk, not just to Harry but through her influence with him, the entire wizarding world. People gravitated to him, they would follow his example. If he was to turn on people then it could cause any number of problems. Especially with that power.

He shook his head, banishing the thoughts, he couldn't judge the boy before he had a chance to prove himself, already he had shown he was willing to do the right thing by protecting the stone and he also showed some respect to authority by willingly going to speak to Professor Flitwick about his concerns.

The interaction with Mr Malfoy was a little disconcerting but Dumbledore was happy to see how it would play out, it wasn't something that either side seemed to be willing to give on, they would speak, question each other's ideals, and leave them both thinking, perhaps through this interaction Harry would be able to pull Draco away from that edge that led to the darkness.

Putting the piece of parchment away he shut the desk draw again, locking it tightly, he wouldn't consider it again, not until something forced his hand.

Truly he hoped nothing would. Taking a lemon drop from the dish he placed it into his mouth, closing his eyes and listening to Fawkes as he started singing a gentle happy tune. At least with Fawkes he was able to tell if he was making the right decision.

TBC

The next Chapter will be skipping forwards a few weeks to the trip to Diagon Alley.

This one I'm still not happy with, I'm going to come back to it and redo it at some point.

I'd like to apologise for the major and i do really mean major delay on this story, i hit a rough patch dealing with a few personal things, so i just wanted to apologise.

I've got one more chapter already written and one thats about twenty percent done. I find myself spinning my wheels so to speak. i keep coming up with ideas but i just cant seem to write them down.

But the show must go on and I'm dealing with my issues. I want to do a shout out to another fanfiction author, one I stumbled across a while ago and quickly became one of my favourites. Temporal Knight, author of the awesome story "Harry Potter and the Rune Stone Path." I also need to do a thank you to the author as I was reading their fanfic and saw they had recommended my story, so thank you for that. It helped give me a bit of a kick to get back into writing again.

Right, time to get on with the next chapter, With the appearance of our favourite blonde dumbass… no I don't mean Draco 😊


	20. Chapter 20: Magical Me!

**Chapter 20: Magical Me**

 _Disclaimer: As usual, you know the rules, neither Harry Potter, Bioshock or anything else I reference is owned by me._

They stepped out of the portal, walking into the alley besides Gringotts, carrying several bags loaded with gifts and other bits and pieces that they had picked up on their trip to New York. Initially they had planned to spend a few days there and then move on but it turned out Elizabeth hadn't properly focused when opening the rift. "Who the hell thinks a purge is a good idea?" Harry asked as they stepped out of the rift. "I mean seriously, what the hell, letting people just commit whatever crime they want for a night to 'cleanse themselves' to prevent other crimes." Harry muttered in disbelief at the alternate version of America they had visited, for an entire night they could commit any crime, everything was legal. they had arrived the day before that had happened.

They had corrected the mistake the day later, one night in a hotel, a day shopping and then they left to go to the New York that was in their timeline. Still, Harry just couldn't seem to wrap his head around the situation, it just seemed too outlandish and crazy for them to have come up as a solution for crime and apparently unemployment... but then again you didn't need to count the dead among the unemployed. Glancing out into the street Harry saw a lot of people around, he looked at Elizabeth, "has the alley ever been this busy?" He asked, unsure as to why it seemed a lot more crowded than usual, albeit he wasn't an expert on the situation having only been here three times before but even on those times it hadn't been as busy as it was now. His first time here it was pretty full as people rushed to get school supplies for their children but looking at the crowd gathering around Flourish and Blotts, it definitely showed that something was going on. "Want to check it out?" Harry asked and Elizabeth shook her head.

"Not yet, let's get rid of these bags and get some money." Elizabeth said calmly as they walked out of the alley, making their way past the crowd of people with a little bit of difficulty and towards the exit of the alley. "They seem happy to see someone." She muttered glancing back at the crowds as the barrier opened to let another group of people in, the two barely getting out of the way as a group of witches nearly barrelled into them. "Come on, let's get this put away... I'll admit I'm slightly curious now." she said as they walked into the bar area.

"What can I get for you?" the voice of Tom the owner was quick to greet them as they walked up to the counter with their bags.

Elizabeth was the first to speak, placing her bag on an empty stool in front of where she stood, "we need two rooms for the next couple of days." She requested politely. "And before I forget, can you tell me what's going on in the alley? There's a big crowd and we could barely get through." Elizabeth explained as Tom looked for available rooms.

"That?" He asked in surprise, apparently expecting people already to know about it. "Haven't you seen the Prophet recently? Gilderoy Lockhart is going to do a book signing later today. I'm not surprised to see the Alley is already busy, witches are pouring in from all over the country. Heck I think my wife is out there as well." He said with a bit of a joking laugh.

There was a pause as the two shared a glance. "Didn't he write half this year's booklist?" Harry asked quietly, getting a nod from Elizabeth. "I suppose we should see if we can get a look." Harry said slightly louder as Tom placed two keys onto the counter in front of them.

"Your rooms are on the third floor." Tom said politely and they took the key, he nodded to them and they made their way to the steps, both a bit surprised at not having to pay up front but shrugged their shoulders, it's not like he didn't know where they were.

"So, drop stuff off and see if we can get into the store?" Harry asked curiously, it was intriguing to him to see someone draw more attention than he did with his scar, he wondered if the person lived up to the hype or was just generating the hype for his own personal gains.

"We'll see, I don't feel like fighting through a horde of people just to see an author." Elizabeth said almost dismissively before looking at Harry. "But maybe they'll have some kind of organisation to it so those who are just there to buy will be able to get in without a hassle." She said, showing a slight level of interest to go see this celebrity that was drawing so much attention and was responsible for the majority of the booklist. They separated to their rooms and dumped their bags and within a few moments were back on the way to the alley. the crowd had grown a bit bigger now but they were also a bit more organised, a couple of staff members were quickly rushing about trying to get them to form an organised queue while shoppers who weren't here for the book signing were being let in and out with a bit more ease. The two walked past the store, a sign advertising that Gilderoy would be here to sign between one and two gave them enough time to get in and potentially get out before he came on site. They entered the store, getting a handful of dirty looks from the others waiting to see him, no doubt assuming they were going to be trying to push ahead of the queue.

Inside the store it was just as hectic if not more so than outside, with the aisles blocking movement as well as the people already loitering inside it made it difficult to manoeuvre. Harry and Elizabeth made their way over to the counter, hopefully the attendant would have the books already ready for students so they could just pick up and get out of there. stopping in front of the counter, Elizabeth waited until the person in front. "Yes miss, how can I help you?" The clerk asked in an out of breath voice.

She felt sorry for him, the man looked like he had been run ragged. "We're here to collect two sets of second year school books."

The clerk nodded his head. "Right, right, that's good, I've got the Lockhart books stacked back here ready for each student but you need to grab the rest from the shelves," he said quickly as he looked back to where he could see several reporters setting up to take photos of Lockhart when he came out. "We normally have them all set out but with this event happening so suddenly left us completely playing catch up." The clerk explained tiredly and Elizabeth nodded in understanding, things like this would cause disarray if unprepared for.

"Can you point us in the direction of the right books."

"Certainly, third aisle, second bookcase, fourth aisle, third bookcase, first aisle, fourth book case and the last batch of books are on display over by where the reporters are setting up." He explained and paused as he recognised the lightning bolt mark. He looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. "I'll sort out the Lockhart books while you're grabbing the rest." the clerk offered and the two turned to head back into the madness of the main shop. They separated quickly moving to opposite ends of the store, Harry moving towards the back where the reporters were standing around, hoping that they wouldn't notice him. He didn't want to answer any questions, he had no interest in his name being on the papers.

"Excuse me." He said politely as he pushed past the reporter. The man in question glanced at him but seemingly didn't pay much attention as he moved, leaving his cameraman and walking into the store. Harry walked over to the books, glancing around at the books he reached up to grab two copies of the one he needed. He flicked the first one open, glancing through a few pages, curious as to the transfiguration spells that they'd be learning this year.

Someone cleared their throat to his side. "Why am I not surprised to find Harry Potter with his nose in a book." A familiar voice spoke up, drawing Harry's attention away.

"Hmm? did you say something?" He asked jokingly, keeping his expression neutral and slightly dismissive before looking up from his book and smiling at the person in front of him. "How has your summer been Susan?" Harry questioned as he closed the book, moving on the from the joking jibe, "Did you get the letter I sent you?" Harry asked, quickly getting a nod in response.

"My aunt does want to speak to you about that." she said with a hint of warning in her voice. "How did you get the letter past all of our protective wards?" She asked and Harry just smiled slightly. "Because that caused a bit of trouble for the wardmakers that the letter was able to be dropped off without any indication as to how it was done."

"All I'll say for now is that it was a rush job, we were in America so we had to make sure it got back to you before we got back to the UK." Harry explained elusively and Susan frowned. Behind Harry, Witches and Wizards were being let in towards the area set up for Lockhart's appearance and Susan followed their movements as she continued to talk to Harry.

"Regardless, Auntie isn't happy about it, if you were able to find a gap then how do we know someone else can't exploit it?" Susan asked and Harry lost the smile almost immediately, taking on a more serious expression.

"I can guarantee that no one that is a threat to you can possibly recreate the circumstances, at least as far as I am aware it's a unique thing from a unique set of circumstances." Harry explained gaining another frown.

He felt a presence behind him and tensed, glancing back over his shoulder he saw a woman standing behind him, arms crossed looking quite imposing and stern. "That's not a satisfactory answer Mr Potter..." the woman spoke and Harry glanced between her and Susan and then looked back smiling weakly.

"You must be her Aunt then." Harry said with a veneer of calmness that tried to hide his nervousness but he could tell just from a glance that it wasn't fooling either of the two Bones women.

"Relax Harry, we're not going to ask you to spill your secrets here in public like this." Susan said calmly a warm smile on her face as she looked up at her aunt. "We're not are we Auntie?" She questioned and her Aunt relaxed her posture slightly.

"No Mr Potter, we're not, though I would ask if you could tell me later when we have chance to talk more privately," The woman said and walked around him to stand next to Susan.

Susan gestured to her aunt. "I don't think you've properly met my Aunt yet, Harry Potter, my Aunt: Madame Bones. Auntie, this is Harry Potter."

"Pleasure to meet you Madame Bones, near panic attack aside, I've heard a lot of things about you. Susan was really helpful when we were investigating what happened at Hogwarts." Harry said politely making sure to praise Susan's part in the situation, "without her, the professors would have been caught completely flatfooted." He said with another smile, drawing a small blush from Susan.

"I didn't do that much..." She said evasively and Harry shook his head.

"Means, Motive and Opportunity, you were the one who went over that, stopped us getting focused on one person, albeit it didn't work as we thought it was going to and we never got to fully investigate people but you kept our eyes open."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, here promoting the release of his autobiography: Magical Me, I am happy to introduce to you holder of the Order of Merlin 3rd class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League and something that he assuredly doesn't want anyone to forget, Five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award. I give you Gilderoy Lockhart." the manager spoke and stepped off the stage as the crowd that had been let in started cheering loudly. Harry, who had his back to the stage saw the slight frown on Madame Bones face and the suspicious one on Susan's made him turn around to see the man that a lot of people had apparently come to see. A man came out, in gaudy robes that just screamed expensive, he stood posing for the cameras that were scattered in front of the raised platform. Harry looked surprised, in his mind someone who had apparently done half the stuff that he had written about surely wouldn't have come off this unscathed. The man glanced his way, Blue eyes glanced at his green and Harry mentally cursed as his eyes flicked to the scar. He turned his back, trying to return to the conversation that he had been having with the Bones duo. Again, he saw the frowns on their features and Harry spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him.

"You two don't seem too fond of him." He said quietly, making sure they could hear it but not the others. Amelia looked at him and gave a slight nod.

"It's nothing," she dismissed calmly as she looked over the crowd.

"You learn to read people when you're in Aunties line of work," Susan explained quickly seeing her Aunt wasn't as willing to explain much more in the situation. "Sometimes it's just a hunch but I've learnt to trust her instincts, it normally doesn't steer her wrong." praising her aunt drawing a small smile as she spoke.

"Hmm... I guess he has to be pretty good if he doesn't have a scratch from any of these creatures he's dealt with." Harry said suspiciously as he looked around at the two as Susan's eyes widened. "What?" Harry asked as a hand came down on his shoulder. he tensed as a voice spoke in surprise.

"Bless my soul, Harry Potter." the voice said loudly drawing gasps from the crowd. He closed his eyes, resigning himself to the fate that was about to happen. Opening them again after a second he looked at Susan and mouthed the word 'help' as he was pulled back towards the stage. After a split second, that threw Harry slightly off balance, the movement stopped.

"Don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to be grabbing children like that." The voice of Elizabeth cut in with a slight edge.

The hand came off his shoulder and Harry quickly turned, looking at the Blonde-haired man that had grabbed him, a slight glare appearing on his features before he quickly kept himself under control. "You're right, you're right, I apologise Mr Potter, I got a bit over excited with the announcement that I wanted to make." He said politely and smiled at Harry before turning back to face Elizabeth. "I was told about you, you would be Elizabeth DeWitt, the assistant helping the classes at Hogwarts, wouldn't you?" Lockhart questioned and Elizabeth nodded reluctantly, even though she wasn't officially working at the moment, the fact that he had said her full title and drew attention to her forced her to agree, acting as a representitive of the school. "WONDERFUL! Perhaps you could both join me on stage, it would only be suitable for this announcement I plan to make." He said looking between the two for confirmation, Elizabeth glanced at Harry and both did not look like they wanted to do it but after a moment she relented, shrugging her shoulders in an indifferent gesture which Lockhart quickly took to be acceptance. "Excellent, come join me up here." He said quickly moving back onto the raised stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, when Young Mr Potter walked into the store to buy his books for the current school year, he no doubt expected to pick them up and be on his way, but now not only will he receive a copy of these books signed by myself absolutely free, he along with all the other students will also be getting the real Magical Me." He said with a flourish drawing gasps and cheers from the crowd. "Yes, I have taken the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts and am looking forward to teaching the next generation of students." He called out grandly drawing even more cheers and applause. With a slight bow, he then rested an arm over Harry's shoulder and one round Elizabeth's side. "Smile you two, together we'll make the front page." He whispered as cameras started flashing in their face.

Harry glanced sideways to Elizabeth to see her own look of discomfort at the situation, though the way she glanced at the arm wrapped around her, he could tell it was less the fact that the photos were being taken and more Lockhart's hand on her that was off putting to her.

It would be several minutes before they could move away, Harry with a stack of his books in hand he made his way back towards Susan and her aunt. "That... was disturbing." Elizabeth muttered brushing at her side where the hand had been resting. "I think I need a shower, I feel dirty now." She grouched as they walked further away from the stand, the two Bones women following after them. "He's the new Defence Teacher? Did he accept the position just to improve his book sales?" She continued to rant drawing an amused chuckle from the group. "And who just grabs someone like that, surely manners are still a thing. Doubly so a child."

"Hey!" Harry protested and Elizabeth ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance and the amusement of Susan.

"You're still technically a child, even if you never act like one until you get told off." She said cheekily and Harry stood there mock glaring at her.

"But it shows how famous you are, this will no doubt be front page news now. He knows how to work a crowd." Susan said in reluctant respect. "But a crowd and a classroom aren't the same." She added as they made their way over to buy the books.

"Arthur NO!" A female voice shouted out and there was a loud crash followed by a lot of shouting. Madame Bones cursed under her breath and quickly drew her wand.

"Out of the way," She called out pushing past the crowd that had now shifted their attention to watch whatever had broken out. "move out of the way," she commanded again, her voice cutting through the chatter and they backed out of the way as they started to recognise who she was. "What is going on here!" She shouted out angrily at the confrontation drawing it to an almost immediate halt. following behind her Harry, Susan and Elizabeth saw the forms of Lucius Malfoy tangling with a red headed man, no doubt the Arthur that they had heard shouted a moments ago. Looking around Harry recognised Ron and the Twins, they were too focused on the scuffle to spot him.

"Ah, Madame Bones." Lucius was the first to recover, dusting himself off and straightening his robes, "how pleasant to see you today." He said with no sincerity behind his words but Amelia didn't take the bait. "This is nothing more than a simple misunderstanding that escalated a bit quicker than either side anticipated." He said politely and Amelia frowned, glancing between the two as Arthur looked to pick up his spilt items.

"And that led you to brawl like muggles?" She questioned sharply and Lucius didn't respond. "There has been no damage done and I'm not on duty so I do not want to drag you both into questioning, both of you go your separate ways and I will forget this happened." She said strictly and Lucius and Arthur nodded their heads.

"I would like to speak to you when you're next on duty, I have something important I need to speak to you about." Lucius spoke quietly, glancing over at Elizabeth for the briefest of moments.

"I will be in my office from nine tomorrow morning," Amelia spoke with suspicion as to his actions and with a slight nod of his head, Lucius turned around.

"Come Draco." Lucius said calmly and the two walked out of the store, Draco pausing to nod to Harry, Elizabeth and Susan and a slight acknowledgement to Ron, the two didn't like each other but they had worked together for a little bit and it had dulled the hostility slightly.

"Now what could he want to speak to me about." Amelia muttered quietly as she looked at the Weasleys. She sighed, "Arthur, you need to stop rising to the bait." She said as she reached down and picked up one of the books that had fallen in the fray. "You know he has powerful associates that could make life difficult." She chided lightly as she passed it to a younger female redhead. "What even started this fight?" She asked as the crowd started to break up, attention shifting back to Lockhart.

"It was a matter of family honour," Arthur said, still showing his frustration at the situation. "I appreciate your restraint with this situation, it won't happen again." Arthur apologised and Amelia smiled.

"As I said, I'm off duty, spending time with my niece, I don't think she'd appreciate it if I gave up what little free time that I had to do something over a _minor_ disagreement." She said pointedly and Arthur got the point, nodding his head in understanding.

"Of course, of course." he turned around and looked to his children and his wife. "Come along, let's see if we can get our books before the crowd starts getting even more hectic." Arthur spoke, moving out of the way of Amelia and the trio behind her. As they passed, again brief greetings were given to each other as they finished moving towards the counter.

"So, if you don't mind me being a bit forward with this," she started politely as she walked up to Amelia. "What do you think Mr Malfoy wants to speak to you about?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"You know him?" She asked in surprise getting a nod from Elizabeth. "Huh, interesting," she muttered more to herself than Elizabeth, "to be honest I have no clue whatsoever, he's been different recently, his voting block in the Wizengamot shifting and drawing a lot of attention recently with the Magical Creature Employment Act, he and several of his allies which were predicted to block the act voted in favour of it." Amelia explained as she placed Susan's books on the desk.

"He went for that?" Elizabeth asked in surprise. Sure, she had spoken to him about it before the incident at Hogwarts but she hadn't expected him to have shifted his views on it that easily, even with how she spelled it out for him.

"Well his popularity has increased and he's even recruiting a lot of people to work on some of the companies he owns which are also seeing a lot of benefit from this change in image." Amelia said as she handed over the money. "I don't trust it though, no one has a change of heart like that without some sort of agenda." She said more to herself than Elizabeth. "But, as long as he's acting like this, perhaps some of the inequality will start to disappear." She said a slight glimmer of hope in her voice. "At least until he shows what he's truly planning." She stepped aside, letting Elizabeth and Harry back to the counter to pay for their books.

"He wasn't serious a moment, ago was he?" Harry asked, finally finding his voice, looking back towards the area where Lockhart was signing books with a peacock quill. "He's not really going to be our new Defence teacher, is he?" Harry question in disbelief.

"It does look to be that way, I doubt he'd flat out lie in an attempt to get on to the front page." Amelia responded. "You might want to keep your study group going this year." She said looking at Harry and Susan.

"You don't think he's going to be good?" Susan asked and Amelia didn't respond for a moment, watching the man talking to a few witches that were giggling under his attention.

"I think he can talk among the best of them but I'm still not sold on his claims." Amelia finished, "now, it was nice meeting you Mr Potter, Miss DeWitt," she bid farewell and the two left the store ahead of them.

"Suddenly, I'm not looking forward to returning to Hogwarts..." Harry said, trailing off in resignation.

"So, the threat of mortal danger does nothing, but a celebrity professor makes you want to run away." Elizabeth deadpanned as she took the bag of books. "At least you only have to deal with him in class, I've got staff meetings, meals, lessons and probably a patrol or two where I'm going to have to be around him." She sighed, shuddering slightly as she did, resisting the urge to brush away at where his hand had rested when they were pushed into the photos. "Feel sorry for me Harry," she jokingly requested as the two left the store chuckling as they went to continue their shopping.

HPCVHPCV

But summer wasn't going to last forever, eventually Elizabeth had to return to Hogwarts ahead of the students in preparation for the start of the second year. Harry would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the last few days before they made their trip to the school and she would be catching up with each of the Professors so that she knew what to expect on the first few days of lessons. Her first meeting would be with Lockhart, she walked towards the office which he had been given, a muggle notepad in her hand, a pen clipped to it. Looking through the information she had already taken from both Sprout and Flitwick she didn't have to write much of anything, both having been prepared and making their own handovers for her. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation and she wasn't looking forward to dealing with Snape afterwards but she'd do what she was paid to do at this time. She stepped up to his classroom door and knocked on it.

No answer came through and she tried the handle pushing it open and walking in. No sign of Lockhart in the room so she cut across it, glancing around at the standard set up that currently had little to no personal touch, other than a picture of himself by the blackboard. she walked up a couple of steps at the back of the room to another door and knocked on it. "Professor Lockhart?" She called out and waited for several moments.

"Come in," His voice called through and Elizabeth turned the handle walking into the room. Immediately she was caught off guard by the decorations, pictures plastered all the walls, none of the pictures were different, they were all portraits of him, some of them talking to each other, others were studying their appearance and some were apparently reading newspapers.

"Huh, an interesting design." She said to Lockhart, tearing her attention from the pictures of the man that had noticed and were staring at her as they continued their actions to the man in question who was sat behind the desk with a smile on his features that showed off his pristine white teeth. "I'm here to get any lesson plans you've got so I know what I'm getting into for the first week back." Elizabeth explained clinically, not wanting to spend any longer with the man than she had to. He was probably a nice enough person a bit enamoured with himself but she didn't want to get to know him at all at this point in time. Maybe after the students were back and settled in then she would take the time to talk to him but until then, she'd keep it polite and to the point.

"Yes, Elizabeth, come in, take a seat." He said with a gesture to the chair at the opposite side of his desk. Nodding her head, she walked over and sat down, acutely aware of the whispering of the portraits. It was one thing that she was glad that there were no portraits in the head boy/girl rooms, the constant chattering was at points insufferable. "I plan to have a little test for the students on their first day." He said without any hint of joking, getting a nod from Elizabeth, it was a good way to start, to find out what they had learnt in their previous year and where he could expand on from there. "Here, take a look." He said passing over a quickly written test that he had prepared. Taking the parchment, she unrolled it and looked at the questions listed:

 _Q1: What is Gilderoy's favourite colour?_ She paused, glancing back at the man in disbelief, part of her thinking this was nothing more than a little prank. _Q2: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_ Again, another question that had nothing to do with defence against the dark arts and more to do with himself. On and on the questions, went, fifty-four in total and while there were a few that had potential, asking how he had defeated the various dark creatures in the book but the majority of them were completely unrelated to anything to do with the class. "Wow." Elizabeth muttered quietly.

"Do you like it? I'm especially fond of question fifty-four." He said happily and Elizabeth stared at him with a dead eyed look, she couldn't believe that he was actually being serious. "Now I know, it doesn't scream defence," he added hastily upon seeing the look that she was giving him. "In fact, some of those you would think are completely redundant and pointless but there is a reason behind this." He said with a flourish as he stood up and walked to the window. "You see, these students, they need to be tested to see if they've studied the material." He looked back at her with a knowing smile. "I know what it's like to be a student, even the due diligent ones sometimes will cut corners and this is a perfect way to show them that I will be considering their actions, to show them that even the littlest bit of information could be of use to them in the dangerous world that is out there. After all, if it wasn't for my ability to gather information, I never would have been able to track down the werewolves that were hounding that village." He said with a brief gesture to one of the book covers that he had on display.

That explanation caught Elizabeth off guard, she had after reading that quiz, expected a person with no talent and was more interested in using this to add to his celebrity status. His comments though, made a lot of sense to her. "I will admit I didn't see that when I looked at the test itself, when you put it in that light I can see what you're doing with the test. I'm assuming that you're planning on explaining this to them after the test?" She questioned and he nodded slightly. She jotted a couple of notes down, "anything else that you have planned?" She asked with a look and he nodded again.

"I have a few plans, for the younger years I think I'll take some time to deal with the magical pests that they can potentially find. With my older students, I'll probably start working on some of the topics that are covered in my later books." Lockhart explained, watching as she continued to quickly write down notes. "You were here last year, what can I expect from the students?" Lockhart asked out of interest and curiosity.

Thinking for a moment, Elizabeth put her notepad down. "It depends on the year, last year I was solely working with the First Years, having only just come into learn magic myself." She started, "I was missed where I used to live in America and when I came here I was found by Professor Babbling, she introduced me to the world and I've started learning essentially from the ground up, the first... now second years are a good group, a few troublemakers but you always get them." She explained, thinking of the feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin, "though from what I was told it's a lot less antagonistic." She thought about some of the actions that the older students had taken and some of the rivalries that had formed, thankful that she had been able to avoid most of the trouble.

"Ah yes the rivalries, I remember back when I was here, they were the same, Gryffindor and Slytherin out for each other's blood almost, have you ever heard tales about the Marauders?" He asked with a smile, chuckling as he remembered things that they had done. Elizabeth shook her head and "Pranksters of legendary record, no one was safe but one person in particular drew their attention more than anyone else. In fact, he works here, our Potions master himself." That drew Elizabeth's attention, it revealed a little bit about the angry man, let her know a bit about what had shaped him. If he had been victimised by these Marauders... she pushed the thoughts away, it didn't matter to her, she'd seen how he had treated the younger years with no connection to that and it was unacceptable. "But that is neither here nor there, are there any pranksters that I need to watch out for?" He asked curiously and Elizabeth was tempted to say no, just to see how he'd react but after a moment nodded her head.

"The Weasley twins, they're the main pranksters in the school, though they never did anything to extreme last year... They were probably a bit more interested in the other situations in the school." Elizabeth said evasively, not knowing how much he had been told about last year, she didn't want to say much in case people wanted it kept on the quiet side.

"Ah yes, Dumbledore told me about that, terrible business, it's a shame I wasn't here, I could have perhaps helped in saving him, I did learn a few different medicinal potions and perhaps the poor professor could have still been with us now." He sighed sadly, showing a hint of grief for the loss of life, recovering quickly he clapped his hands. "But, if it wasn't for that, how could I have taken this wonderful job? A light at the end of a gloomy tunnel, no?" Lockhart questioned with a bright smile. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, standing up and gently brushing the robes she was wearing to straighten them out.

"I think that's all I need for now Professor." She said politely, picking up the notepad that she had placed on his desk. "I have to go find some of the others now so I will see you when class begins." She finished with a slight bow of her head and turned, heading towards the door, acutely aware of the portraits watching her leave, a slight shudder going up her spine.

 _How is it that in one moment he can seem pretty intelligent and actually quite capable and then moments later feel like a lecherous creep?_ She thought to herself before dismissing the problem, perhaps she was just being a bit paranoid in regard to him after seeing the situation with Quirrell, not everyone is out to cause problems for her. And hopefully, this one doesn't have Voldemort growing out of his head. Walking down the stairs to the Entrance Hall, she glanced over the banister at the doorway to the dungeons. "Time for me to enter the dungeon." She said with amusement.

Needless to say, this year would be an interesting one.

TBC

Well there's another chapter done, I'm happier with this one than the last one and I love the chance to expand on the Lockhart character a little bit. Impressive acting on his part or could there actually be something underneath all the flash and fakeness?


	21. Chapter 21: Tempermental Train Ride

**Chapter 21: Temperamental Train Ride**

 _Disclaimer: If there's an unlimited realms of possibility then perhaps there may be a timeline where i am responsible for creating both Bioshock and/or Harry Potter but alas it is not this one. I own neither of them, i'm just toying with the people and places included.  
_

Returning to Hogwarts after the end of the holidays was a painless and smooth transition, arriving early, Harry was already on the train by the time the majority of students had started to turn up, sat in a compartment around the middle of the train with his feet up resting on the other bench, book open in his lap, notepad to the side with a handful of notes taken that he had been working on when he had been left to his own devices at the Leaky Cauldron.

 _tap, tap_

He looked up, glancing at the doorway, Terry stood, waiting for Harry to acknowledge him. "Have a good summer?" He asked as the Ravenclaw walked in and sat down opposite him.

"Wasn't too bad, ended up going to France for a week part way through, did you know the school there actually lets people tour it during the summer to see if they want to send their kids there? Man, some of the things there put Hogwarts to shame." Terry explained drawing a look from Harry.

"What does it do? Safe place to learn Magic?" He asked jokingly, "a sign on the front that says no trolls allowed?" He continued making light of the interesting events that had happened the year before.

"Try double the optional classes, they can learn Alchemy there. Their potions classroom isn't in the darkest, dirtiest dungeons and they regularly update their classes." Terry explained, and Harry found himself frowning. The fact that Hogwarts had fallen that far behind when it like to class itself as one of the... he corrected himself, the best school to learn magic was a bit of a wakeup call. Though certain aspects had come into question he hadn't really put much thought about it. "I was speaking to some of the older years and apparently our curriculum hasn't changed much in the last fifty years, in fact there's less being taught now. Did you know they had a duelling class? It got cancelled about thirty years ago, but we've missed out on so many things."

Harry was admittedly only half listening to his friend talking, his thoughts had been focused on the warning from the House Elf that had visited him, a warning of a threat to the school that had hit before. Though from what he heard from Terry did match up with what he had guessed from the sheer quantity of unused classrooms, some with layers of dust so thick that he wondered if they had been used in hundreds of years, let alone the last thirty years. He thought the house elves were meant to keep them clean and tidy, but they probably left them for the same reason everyone else didn't use them. There was enough empty space in the castle that was being used that the out of the way classrooms weren't even necessary to be prepared for students moving about, not even for sneaking into for a little personal time.

The part of his attention that was stolen by the threat kept drawing his attention, with Elizabeth's ability they had the potential to look for it, to find out what it was before it could cause a threat here and now, but they made no effort to look, to find out what it was to prevent it from causing the problem that they were warned about. He closed the book he had sitting in his lap, not that he had spent much time reading the book in question, idly flicking through the pages while his mind was focused elsewhere. "I'm sorry Terry, there's something I need to do quickly. I'll be back in a few moments." Harry muttered, standing up and walking out of the room, leaving the stunned Terry sitting there wondering about what had just happened. Harry walked down the corridor, calmly sidestepping other students that were running back and forth looking for their friends before moving into the toilet at the end of the cart. He closed the door, locking it and looking into the mirror quickly, deciding on how he was going to do what he wanted to do.

A tear started to open around him and he found himself in a familiar place, a sea of Lighthouses, the doorway to every time and place, every possibility. One of these had to lead to the threat in question and if he could identify the threat there then he could prevent it in his own time. With the bonus that he could return to the exact point he left and not raise suspicion. Walking to the stairway away from the lighthouse he watched as platforms raised up forming a walkway in front of him. Elizabeth had explained it a little bit beforehand when she had led him along it, the path wasn't so much of a literal path, it was his own mind creating the pathway, none of this actually looked like it did, it was just how his mind pictured it all so it wouldn't overload him, he walked along, watching the water run off the wooden boards that made the walkway as he focused on where he wanted to go, he wanted to go to a time where the threat was active, he wanted to be somewhere near it. The Walkway responded to his thoughts, veering sharply off in one direction, towards another lighthouse that matched all the others that were around him. it hit the bottom of the walkway and he walked up the steps, his footsteps loud and crunching on the stony floor. He looked around, part of him wondering whether this was a good idea as he got closer, the voice in the back of his head warning him that he knew nothing about the threat that was there, nothing on its capabilities and how to deal with it if it comes to attack him. He reached up for the door, hand gripping the handle to push it open when another rested on top of his. he jumped, turning sharply, pulling his hand free. He turned his head and looked at the person to see one of the Lutece twins standing there, looking at him with curiosity.

"Are you sure this is the path you want to take?" Rosalind asked, no sign of phrasing her comment in the way she normally did, no double talk with her twin, no leading him on to get him confused, it reinforced the seriousness situation.

"The fact that you're telling me this means that it's a problem, I have to do this." Harry said seriously, and Rosalind nodded her head, stepping back.

"Very well, it's not up to me to decide your actions." She said dismissively, and Harry pushed opened the door, walking through it.

HPCVHPCV

At Hogwarts, Dumbledore and Elizabeth knew that Harry had left the train the moment it happened, both being in his office at the time, ironically enough they had been talking about the same thing that had been troubling Harry. Dumbledore being under the belief that the problem needed to develop before they could do something about it, to catch the person and take whatever was causing the threat.

As they were talking the devices on his bookcase started to go crazy. Dumbledore reacted in almost an instant, up and checking the tools that monitored the health of Harry. "What does it mean?" Elizabeth asked, standing up from the chair she had been sitting, walking over to him, and looking at the devices.

"It means, that Mr. Potter has gone wandering without you." He said calmly although Elizabeth could see a slight edge in what he was saying, he was not happy that Harry was wandering around in potentially dangerous situations by himself.

"What is he doing!?" Elizabeth muttered sharply, she had requested that he not do something like this without her yet, not until he had fully understood the risk that he was getting into.

One device cracked and shattered, showering the two of them in silver fragments, Elizabeth let out a small scream, quickly covering her face, caught off guard by the sudden breaking of the device. "What does that mean?" She asked, already having an idea as to what that meant.

"It means, Mr Potter has done something dangerous and paid the price." A cultured voice spoke out and the two turned around, looking for the new visitor.

"Robert," She spoke quickly, with a familiarity that made Dumbledore Ease his grip from the wand that she hadn't even seen him draw. "What has he done?" Elizabeth asked with a dreadful anticipation sinking in.

"He acted without truly thinking things through, searching for what the potential threat would be and opening a door into a situation he didn't fully understand. You need to come with me." He said, and Elizabeth cursed under her breath. "My apologies Professor Dumbledore, where we are you going, you won't be able to follow." He said with seriousness that stopped Dumbledore from speaking for a moment. "Elizabeth, you know where to go." He said, and Elizabeth nodded her head, the tear already forming to the side of her with enough distance to stop Dumbledore from making his way through. Robert Lutece walked in ahead of her and she turned back to Dumbledore.

"I will find out what is going on and I will bring him back," she promised starting to walk before stopping again, looking back over her shoulder at Dumbledore. "What was the device that broke?" Elizabeth asked though she already had a feeling as to what it was.

"It monitored his life signs," Dumbledore spoke softly, dread tipping his voice. "That it broke can only mean one thing." He said, and Elizabeth nodded her head a grim look on her face.

She walked through the tear, it closing behind her as she spoke "If it's true, then it's good that he wasn't here." She said as it shut, walking in the direction that would lead straight to him. "You idiot Harry, what have you done?" She muttered under her breath her pace quickening, heels clicking on the wooden boards that sprung up infront of her to make her path.

 _Splash, splash, splash._

Rhythmic splashing of water drew her attention and she turned, a row boat was coming towards her, a familiar sight from what was almost a lifetime ago.

"Perhaps now he'll look before he leaps." Robert spoke with nonchalant resignation. In the back of the boat she could see Harry lying there motionless

"I believe it was the looking that got him into trouble in the first place." Rosalind mocked as the boat pulled up to the dock at the bottom of the Lighthouse that Elizabeth stood at.

"How is he?" She questioned as they lifted him up onto dry land.

"He'll live, much to his regret," Rosalind explained as the two started rowing away again. "He might have a bit of a headache when he awakens. And hopefully next time he'll knock before he opens a door."

Elizabeth looked down at the unconscious Harry, his breathing slow and ragged. "What did you do?" She repeated the question she had asked before and sat by him. The fact that they had left meant that he was probably going to be fine soon enough, like what had happened with her the first time she had died. There was shock, there was confusion and there would no doubt be pain, but unlike her, he wouldn't be able to just handwave it away. Now all she had to do was wait for him to wake up and see what he had learnt.

That was the advantage here, they could wait as long as needed. Time was a bit funny like that. Though with the way he had acted, Harry was not going to be looking forward to the lecture he was going to get when he woke up. Too many things were reliant on him not getting himself killed and he seemed to underestimate just how badly some people would miss him.

HPCVHPCV

He staggered out of the public bathroom walking into the rain, holding a tissue to his bloody nose, the world still slightly spinning around him as he tried to gather his bearings, he struggled to keep a steady walk so as not to draw too much undue attention. It didn't work as a wave of dizziness hit him, dropping him to his knees as he emptied the content of his stomach into the sewer drain that was at the side of the road. "Sir, are you okay?" A female voice asked, and he managed to slightly turn his head, looking at the black-haired woman before another wave of nausea caused him to throw up again. His arms shook from exhaustion, muscles burning as he dropped to the floor falling flat into the rainy street. The woman quickly knelt next to him, shaking him to try and get a response while calling out for someone to call an ambulance.

HPCVHPCV

Harry walked back through the train, still soaked to the bone, his head hurt, not his scar but his entire head, like something had started drumming in the back of his head and just started marching around for additional effect. Students looked at him as he walked by, many sniggering at him and the state he was in, some of them looked concerned and even tried to ask him if he was okay but he waved them off. He entered the compartment he had been in and dropped down into the seat opposite Terry next to his discarded book, "what happened to you?" Terry asked in surprise.

"Don't ask." He groaned slightly, removing his glasses, and placing them by his side. "Let's just put it this way, I need to work on my dodging and awareness." He said, leaning back into the bench and letting his head rest on the wall, closing his eyes, if anyone asked, the water was from a spell that he had failed to move out of the way, he wasn't going to point fingers at anyone to get them in trouble but as far as anyone would care, he was hit by a water spell. But then again, trying to explain swimming in an ocean of time, space and dimension probably wouldn't go over too well, both the explaining part and what the reality of telling others would bring about. It wasn't worth the hassle. His mind was still trying to pull together what he had experienced. It had been a cave of some description. Dark, wet, littered with the skeletons of rats and other small creatures. And that voice... he shivered slightly, a look from Terry made him shake his head, passing it off as being cold as he cast a light warming charm on himself. It wasn't a complete lie, he was cold but the thought of the voice that he had heard complaining of its hunger had sent chills down his spine all before he caught glimpse those eyes.

"So, I saw you were on the front page of the Prophet the other day." Terry commented with a slight smirk and Harry groaned, leaning his head back against the compartment wall and looking up at the ceiling.

"Lockhart?" he asked, already knowing what the answer was going to be. He had avoided the paper and other related things since returning to the Magical World because he knew exactly what would have pulled him onto the front page of the Prophet.

"Lockhart." Terry agreed, "there was a whole article about his announcement... read more like an advert for his new autobiography but it was all there for everyone to see." he commented, turning, and looking out the window as the terrain continued to roll by. "He's the new Defence teacher... though something just doesn't seem right about it." Terry stated with a look of doubt, something he had been thinking about had been gnawing away at him. "You ever have those situations where there's something at the back of your mind, but you just can't think what it is?" He asked, and Harry nodded his head slowly, it had been that situation like that which had led to his current problem. He closed his eyes, trying to will the pain away but it wasn't going. "Something we'll have to keep an eye on, at least with the stash of books in the Common Room we can keep up with the other stuff if he does turn out to be weird."

"I think if he lets us down too much then Elizabeth is probably going to kick him out of the class." Harry said with a small smile, ever since her confrontation with Snape, she had earned a bit of a reputation, even if she hadn't done anything since then. The situation with Quirrell had been kept secret, no one outside of the Heads and Dumbledore knew what she had done so all the others had learnt was that Quirrell had left for reasons that were his own. Rumours of a duel between the heads and Quirrell spread because the portraits didn't know how to keep their mouths shut but as no one was saying anything the truth remained hidden. The only ones that did know were the group that he was part of that had been investigating during the time and yet even they didn't know all that there was about the project. All they knew what that the stone was saved and the perpetrator had fled into the night, working out that it was Quirrell very quickly but they all agreed that it would be better not to talk about what they had learnt largely because they didn't want anyone to try and steal the stone before Dumbledore had a chance to get rid of it and only Harry, Elizabeth and the Professors had known that it was Voldemort that had been involved, there was no need to cause panic at this point.

"You think so?" Terry asked and got a nod in acknowledgement.

"I'd be surprised if she didn't. She tolerates Snape because the man knows what he's teaching even if he's terrible at teaching, if Lockhart isn't any good she'll probably try and get him thrown out... or throw him out herself." Harry added the last bit to himself quietly though internally he also added a little bit extra _'though if push comes to shove we can't guarantee that she won't just push him into a dimension that will keep him out of the way.'_ A bit dark in the grand scheme of things and to be honest if the guy was just an over acting fraud he highly doubted that she would do anything dramatic, but the thought was there.

"Nah... she won't do it." Terry dismissed, and Harry just smiled, "she didn't throw Quirrell out and he spent half a lesson just doing the introductions." Terry commented, and Harry chuckled with amusement at how close to the truth Terry was. Not only did she eject Quirrelmort from the school, but she dumped the spirit into the middle of the ocean.

"We'll see, I haven't actually seen her for about a week now. She had to go in to set everything up and get ready for the school year." This didn't count the lecture that was still ringing through his ears.

 _BANG_

throughout the train compartment loud bangs echoed through, smoke engulfing the compartment. Students screamed in surprise as older ones tried to banish the smoke away. Harry and Terry opened the window letting the smoke dissipate, pulled out by the wind. "What... the hell... was that?" Terry asked, coughing sharply still waving his hand to try and clear the air. He looked at Harry and his coughing faded stared in shock. Harry who had also been struggling to breathe through the smoke found his attention captured by Terry.

"Why are you sparkling?" They both asked at the same time and then tore their gaze from each other and looked at themselves, they were covered in glitter.

"We've been glittered bombed." Harry said in disbelief and all down the train they could hear more shouted complaints about it. "Who the hell did this?" Harry asked in confusion as he reached up to the baggage racking where the smoke and the bang had come from, he fumbled around, grabbing at the top to see if there was anything there and frowned as he found an envelope. He pulled it free from where it had been stuck down and held it up to show Terry. "Dare I open it?" He asked, and Terry nodded.

"Who knows, perhaps it'll tell us who the person who set this prank going." Terry reasoned as Harry slowly opened the letter, holding it at arm's length just in case there was anything else to come with it.

When nothing happened, he reached into the envelope, pulling out a small card. "Congratulations, if you've found this letter before the halfway point, you've shown that you know how to remain aware of your surroundings. If you didn't then I hope you enjoy the little gift." A deadpan stare as he flipped the card around showing it to Terry. "Your illustrious Defence Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart." Harry finished with a growl. "He does realise this means war." Harry said, and Terry chuckled.

"I think some of the doubts will have been stopped before we even arrive though. Setting a trap like this, while simple it's well done, no one looks up there cause half the time we don't even bring bags in here to put up there." Terry reasoned. Sure, they had book bags, but the compartments were generally enough to have four people in and still have room for the bags and the majority of times people were reading books from said bag, so no one put them up there. "But how could he expect first or second or even third years to look into things like this, the first years won't have been taught any magic by this point, the second years... us, have barely covered the basics and the third years will only properly start looking into things like this along with dark creatures this year." Terry quickly continued his mini rant as he continued to try in a futile effort to brush off the flitter that had managed to cover them both.

"It was risky as well..." Harry muttered thoughtfully. completely distracted from the rant as he studied the glitter, it was basic stuff that could be found in any craft store. "There are people who are allergic to this stuff, at least in the non-magical world, I don't know about allergies in the magical world but I've yet to properly see one..." He trailed off, flicking a bit of glitter off his finger before turning his attention back to the window. "Risky... but I'm assuming that he either took that into consideration and had something planned in case that happened... or he possibly looked into our medical files and broke several privacy laws." Harry added in a small attempt at humour but at the same time his mind was trying to work on what kind of privacy laws the wizarding world had.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"How is he?" Dumbledore asked as Elizabeth re-entered the office through a tear, to him it had been fifteen agonizing minutes of not knowing anything and not being able to do anything other than come up with worse case scenarios. His devices that he used to monitor Harry's health seemed to still work when he went wherever he did, but the ones tracking them always failed, for them to shatter in such force had to mean that something drastic had happened.

"He'll be fine eventually, for lack of a better word... he did die. Just not here." Elizabeth explained weakly as she herself tried to wrap her own thoughts around the entire situation, having experienced it before it was still confusing and disorientating.

"He died?" Dumbledore managed to choke out in disbelief... the prophecy surely... but he's alive now and is apparently fine. Dumbledore's mind refused to work properly, the cogs turning trying to figure out the meaning but not truly able to grasp it.

"The power we both have is strange... weird... messed up... there are many words that could be used to describe it, we visit a different time and place and we become part of it, not in the way that creates an entire life and trail for us, we are people in that world that can live and die. Upon dying though we don't just die." She paused thoughtfully before sighing and continuing. "I'm talking in circles." when we die in that world we're ejected, removed and end up in the in between."

"Then you're immortal?" Dumbledore asked, and Elizabeth quickly shook her head.

"No, God no, we're just like everyone else. we live, we breath, we can die, we can be injured and hurt... We can break." Elizabeth added softly casting her glance away from Dumbledore and towards the window.

"It happened to you?" Dumbledore asked carefully, much of her background was a mystery still, she had given the briefest of explanations covering her abilities but none of the events that had transpired in her past. To Dumbledore it had been vexing, a puzzle missing ninety percent of its pieces, a good book with half the chapters torn out. He watched her expression, losing that of someone calmly analysing a situation and turning pained before the mask locked firmly back into place.

"It was a few years after I started to fully grasp my powers, I was investigating a person, someone I wanted to see if a different time and place could bring about a change in a person, one mistake, one slight difference in their past broke him and sent him down a completely different route..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. "And I still refused to see it. I was arrogant, there was change, and I baited him into what I wanted him to be... which led to his death." She huffed, not wanting to show the regret from the suffering that she had caused to that version of Comstock/Booker. There had been redemption in him. She pushed him and goaded him and tried to break him, to make him what she hated and at the end, when he had finally confronted his demons, he was killed. "And mine shortly after." She finally added pushing herself back to what she needed to do, not focusing on the demons of her past. She clapped her hands together gently, placing them on the desk and lifting them, the tell-tale sound of a tear opening as a small statue of a Big Daddy started to appear before Dumbledore. "This is a Big Daddy, they protect the Little Sisters, with lethal force. This is what killed him and then what proceeded to kill me." She closed her eyes, shivering slightly and then slowly brought her hand to her side.

"There's no scar here, there's no wound and no mark of what killed me. The Big Daddy charged me, deeming me a threat to the Little Sister and sent me through a wall, I was impaled on a steel bar and died." Another shiver, her eyes closed as images of finding her body flashed to the forefront of her mind. Dumbledore looked to say something, but she shook her head before he could even start. "Don't, let me finish and then ask, otherwise I don't think I'll be able to start again." She requested, and he nodded his head in understanding. "I was done with that world, that place and that time. I had no intention of going back after the door was shut. But it kept gnawing at me. The girl that I sent him after, to test him to see if he would save her was still in danger. I tried to run away, after all when you can go anywhere and to any time you can just leave it all behind you can't you?" She asked, slightly pleadingly. Her eyes closed briefly, she brought her hand up, wiping away a tear that had started to form before it could properly fall. If it started she wouldn't stop and she'd become a mess. "So, I went back. This is where it all breaks, because you've already died in that world, how can you exist and be dead at the same time? I'm not talking about that dimension's version of me. But actual me. The universe has a way of balancing things even if you don't think it matches. I went back, and I had no powers, I was powerless with nothing but my wits and a death seeker outlook. I came an inch away from truly dying, not just being kicked out of that time but truly dying. Without the Lutece's I would have died and none of this would have happened. For Harry it's the same thing, if he returns to that timeline, he'll have lost this power for the duration that he's there. If he goes in without myself then he isn't getting back out again unless someone there knows how to create it with technology and the only two that do... they don't exist anymore... in a way..." She trailed off again weakly, knowing that the two in question were the Lutece Twins and that they could and did appear whenever they felt they needed to.

The two sat in silence for several moments, Dumbledore thinking over what she had said, torn in his sadness for what she had to go through and amazement at the capabilities of these powers. There were several questions he wanted to ask, to study the power, the Teacher and Academic in him wanted to learn and to understand it, but there was a more pressing concern that pushed itself to the front of his mind that needed to be cleared up. Harry had travelled to Hogwarts to find out what the potential threat was, he had no clue what

"How did Harry die?"

"He's not sure himself..." Elizabeth responded with a slight shrug, glad at the topic shifting away from her. "All he remembers immediately before the incident is hearing a hissing voice of some kind and bright yellow eyes."

"So, he was killed by something just by its look." Dumbledore asked, feeling concerned, there weren't many things that could do that, those that could he knew of nothing like that which could be anywhere in the forest, his mind raced through potential creatures, each one being dismissed one at a time as it failed to fit the profile of what they were working with. "What else did he learn while he was there?"

"There had been a few attacks while he was there, students were petrified by something, no one seemed to have any clue what, but it concerned one of the houses and a secret chamber." She paused, thinking back to what Harry had told her. "There had been writing scrawled on the wall, Enemies of the Heir beware, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened."

"That was the writing? Exactly that?" Dumbledore asked sharply, and Elizabeth nodded, surprised at the sudden shift in tone. To see Dumbledore, lose his composure like that seemed to be an unusual thing to happen, the calm collected Grandfather figure shifting into the powerful wizard that everyone knew him to be. "Then it's related to him." Dumbledore said, his form shifting again, weariness showing on his features as he leant back into his chair. "Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin, of course, how did I not put the pieces together after he had left..." Dumbledore trailed off as a moment of dawning realisation could be seen on his face. "Riddle, the heir of Slytherin, something that kills with no physical contact." He stood up walking towards a bookcase. "There are a few creatures that can kill like that but none of them have a connection to Slytherin."

"I'm afraid you've lost me." Elizabeth spoke, she had seen the snake motif in the Slytherin logo and in the name, but she didn't know of any snake that could harm without touching.

"I have a theory... it'll take some time but if I'm right, then I think it will be this." He pulled down a black tome, placing it on the table and opening it, flipping the pages quickly to the one he needed. "Severus was working on a project that required some ingredients from this species of snake, they're heavily controlled when they are bred, blinded at a young age because their look has the capability to kill." Dumbledore spoke as he opened to a picture of a giant snake that coiled around the photo, next to the snake was a mannequin of a human and the size difference was staggering. "I hope that it's not true, but my gut tells me it is. But until something is revealed we don't know if what he saw is going to happen here."

"But the warning was the same." Elizabeth protested, and Dumbledore shook his head.

"And you would have us persecute someone for what they could have done? force them into a role that they may not take?" Dumbledore questioned, and Elizabeth winced, realising the comparison that he was trying to make even if she had only glossed over the story, she had left out part that had pushed her to be so aggressive to him in the first place. "They're children, they still have the chance to learn, to change their ways. If we were to persecute them for what they could do, would they learn and stop, or would they just be pushed into doing what you feared they would do?" He closed the book, thinking on the situation, relaxing slightly as he did so. "You have the ability to look into anything, to see what can and could be. but with it, you cut yourself off from the here and now. Your mind works to show you what an outcome could be from a limitless possibility and you don't know which will be the one that plays out here, so you guide it and you risk it completely falling apart. A situation I know of personally, all these titles I have, it's easy to lose sight of how much you should interfere, it's one of the reasons why I chose to stay here. to help guide but not control the students of the next generation." Dumbledore explained and slowly Elizabeth nodded her head, understanding what Dumbledore was trying to say, if she pushed too hard to make sure everything went right then she'd risk the chance of it all blowing up in her face and ending worse than what the original outcome could have been.

"Now, the students should be arriving soon, shall we head to the Great Hall?" Dumbledore asked as he pushed himself out of his chair. "We'll watch, and we shall remain vigilant in case this threat does appear but for now, it would be best to keep it to the staff and not scare the students." He said as they left his office, making their way down to the Great Hall.

"Headmaster, Miss DeWitt." Lockhart spoke up, seemingly appearing out of nowhere as they reached the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

"Professor Lockhart, are you prepared for your first day of classes?" Dumbledore asked politely, with a slight bow of his head in greeting to the man.

"Yes, of course I am, in fact I think my first lesson has already happened. Thank you again for helping me set it up Miss DeWitt." He said politely, surprising her when she had spoken to him before she had always been on a first name basis but now he had switched to her surname. seeing the look, he smiled at her, teeth practically shining as he did. "I feel that when we are working we should keep to a professional manner, after all if the students can't see us respecting our titles, how can we expect them to do the same." He explained drawing a smile from Dumbledore. "I don't think I told you about the little... shall we say prank? that Elizabeth helped me set up on the students to teach them awareness of their surroundings." Lockhart started before stopping himself as they entered the Great Hall. "Actually, let's wait until they arrive, I want to see myself how they have done with it." He clapped his hands almost eagerly as they took their seats and now played the waiting game for the students to enter.

Their voices were heard, echoing through the large hall as they entered the building and Dumbledore steeled himself to keep himself from laughing as he saw the sight of the students entering. Nearly two thirds of them had signs of being caught in what must have been the prank that Lockhart had mentioned the candlelight causing many of them to sparkle with traces of glitter that still covered many of them. Some of them had managed to clear it but he could still see signs of it on their clothing and hair. Dumbledore turned his head to look at Lockhart who was grinning like a Cheshire cat and then turned to look at Elizabeth who had taken to sitting at the far side of the staff table, reminding both the students and the staff that she was part of both social groups and yet was outside of both. It had been an interesting choice when she had started to do that but he had to congratulate her on it as it showed that while she was connected to both groups, she was separate as well, giving troubled students a chance to come to her for help if they felt the staff were going to be unhelpful. at this moment though, she had lowered her head into her hands, her body shaking with barely controlled laughter as she saw the Ravenclaws take their seats, Harry half glaring at Lockhart and with a glance at her, he knew that she had been involved and shook his head taking a seat with the rest of his group of friends.

Shortly after, McGonagall entered with the first years and stepped up to the front, placing the stool down with the hat resting on top, everyone went quiet and the hat began to sing.

TBC

Well it's been a while, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I know not a lot has happened in this chapter but at the same time it's covered a lot of ground as some of the changes that lay the foundation for the future start to get put down.

With the Lockhart I'm currently working with I'm enjoying writing him, I can definitely see me using this interpretation a lot more in the future if I ever do other second year stuff.

I'm still thoughtful about the reveal that it was a Basilisk, in one way I feel like it's been too easy of a reveal, with Dumbledore piecing it together that quickly but at the same time, I do feel that with the situation explained right in front of him about the chamber and his knowledge of Riddle, combined with the potions request by Snape (which will come up in a later chapter) would have been enough to make him go "hang on a minute, I know this…"

With Elizabeth talking about her death to Dumbledore, I am well aware that part of the reason she was so aggressive to the Comstock/Booker of Burial at Sea was because of the fact that the Elizabeth/Anna of that timeline had died because of his lust for power but at the same time, the Comstock/Booker had tried to amend, he had tried to make things right and she was the one who pushed him down that path to ultimately prove herself right. Her guilt getting the better of her which leads into Burial at Sea chapter 2. But even though she was talking about her own death I'd think she'd want to avoid bringing up the death of a baby. It'll get looked at and developed a bit more later on.

Also, final bit I want to bring up is that one of my reviewers has actually created a TvTropes page for this fanfiction which is so freaking awesome, so major shout out to Wikisorcerer for creating it.

And that's all for now, I hope to have the next chapter done a lot faster. I may look into reuploading this one in the future, i'm still umming and ahhing about a couple of little bits. But for now i am happy with what i've got.


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